


Medic Of The Oceans

by Triple_Gemini



Series: The McKirk Alternatum [5]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: AU, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bones is a siren And none of you can convince me otherwise., Boys Being Boys, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Experimentation, Gaila being Gaila, Hurt!Jim, Injury, Inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean, Kidnapping, M/M, Medical Inaccuracies, Multi, Not Ameri-picked, Pheromones, Recovery, Spoilers!, Well - Freeform, a lotta hurt, hurt!Bones, lots of those, mermaid, merman au, merman!bones, that escalated quickly, this is where the hurt comes in, unethical
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-09
Updated: 2015-12-12
Packaged: 2018-02-16 19:30:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2281860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Triple_Gemini/pseuds/Triple_Gemini
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Jim's called into work, he never expected this. A new assignment sends him and his team to investigate a rare and beautiful species, But what happens when Jim realises his new experiment is much more human than he'd realised, and the only person who could ever show him true love was his biggest chance at fame and fortune?</p><p>I, uh, started writing this chapter when I was the grand old age of 13. So I can safety say it's not great. The chapters do get better as they go on and at some point I'll get around to rewriting this, but for now, enjoy.</p><p> </p><p>Part of the McKirk alternatum series: Basically my excuse to write all my favourite versions of Bones all in one place, they're all different stories so you don't have to of read any of them</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Note: Characters not mine! I merely borrow them and give them back a little more damaged...
> 
> Other note: I'm a posh British ass that hasn't quite grasped the concept that some words are in fact, different in America than they are in Britain. This being a franchise set primarily in America, (with the exception of the whole exploring the universe thing) I want to try and keep to the language. If there's any Brit-isms coming through or the accents are a bit off please tell me, I'll be sure to fix it.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well... That escalated quickly.
> 
> I, uh, started writing this chapter when I was the grand old age of 13. So I can safety say it's not great. The chapters do get better as they go on and at some point I'll get around to rewriting this, but for now, enjoy.

(I tried uploading the cover for this but it didn't work. The link is [here](http://triple-gemini.deviantart.com/art/Just-ignore-this-it-doesn-t-exist-ok-559314162))  


 

 

Jim is approximately... 15 minutes late when he arrives at the Enterprise's research centre in all it's finery. He slows his run to a stride to look slightly more casual about it, cocky grin in firmly in place, he sends a wink to the two girls who pass him, to which they respond blushes to the cheeks and hushed whispering... despite the fact he probably looks deshevelled and sweaty.

He strides through the door like he owns the place -one day he will, of course- despite the fact he's now almost 20 minutes late. The receptionist -Rand- sends a disapproving glare before clearing him to enter the lab where Sulu, Uhura and Chekov wait patiently for their co-worker around a large table. Jim starts to worry.

"Jim." Pike greets as he enters the room, Jim stifles a groan as everyone turns their gazes to him in synchronisation, all with matching glares.

"Whoa.. That was creepy." Jim exclaims, trying to stall the inevitable berating he's going to get for showing up late at work... Again. "Oh come on! I wasn't that late!"

Pike rolls his eyes. "I'm not here because of your inability to turn up to... _anything_... on time. Of course, half of that particular meeting would be spent waiting for you to actually turn up."

Jim pouts in mockery. "What are you here for then?" 

"We have a job for you."

Jim almost leaps for joy, they rarely get specific assignments -especially ones where they have to travel for- "What've you got for us?" Jim asks with unconfined excitement.

"A mermaid."

Jim blinks. "A what?!"

"Did I stutter? _Mermaid_." Pike spells out, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. Of course, there have been reports of sightings before, but no ones actually _captured_ one, let alone examined it. "Spock will be here with a team. The lab's just under 8 kilometres from where it's being held. No roads though, so you'll be travelling to the lab by foot."

"Wait. _Where_ exactly are we going?"

 

***

 

Jim peers over the stone wall into the crystal clear water, just able to make out a large net submerged under the turquoise sea. Jim grins and casts a glance to Nyota and Sulu. The former rolls her eyes halfheartedly.

"Last one down's a rotten egg!" Jim shouts and takes off down the hill, running toward his goal, letting the light breeze sweep through his golden hair and the bright sun shine blindingly into his Sinatra-blue eyes.

He comes to a skidding halt where the rocky pavement meets sandy shore. Walking  toward the wooden jetty, where Spock is there to meet him, stood stoically with his arms folded neatly behind his back. The man's dressed in an expensive suit, four guards stood behind him. _That man doesn't understand the meaning of fun._

"Kirk," he greets.

Jim sighs exasperatedly. "We had a deal Spock." He states with a cocky grin.

"... _Captain_." Spock corrects, sighing to himself. It makes Jim more pleased with himself.

"See? That wasn't so hard was it?" Jim claps him on the back, making the man raise an eyebrow. "So. What've you got for me?" Jim asks, rocking on his feet in childlike excitement. Nyota and Sulu finally reach the bottom of the hill and walk to the jetty. Spock acknowledges them both with a tilt of the head.

Spock starts to walk further down the jetty and Jim takes that as an invitation to follow him, with Nyota and Sulu trailing behind cautiously. They're each given protective headphones, much to their bewilderment.

"Keep them on." Is the only explanation they get from one of the guards, though the man looks like he'd rather eat a mouldy egg than talk to Jim. _Asshole_. 

He reluctantly pulls the headphones on, and brushes past the guard, his attention swiftly placed elsewhere. The end of the jetty looks out to sea, a beautiful shade of blue with the sun reflecting off of it. Jim catches sight of a flash of blue scales and bounces on his feet in excitement as the mermaid swims to the surface.

The group go still, all eyes trained on the water and sharing looks of shock when the " _mermaid_ " is actually a _man_.

The shock of dark hair stands out against the crystal water, followed by a strong brow drawn into a frown as the merman keeps his eyes trained into the sea. Broad muscular shoulders disappear as the waves lap at his skin, his eyes flicker upwards, sweeping over the group with a blank expression.

Jim kneels close to the edge of he jetty where the merman begins to edge closer to him apprehensively. Jim catches sight of Uhura and Sulu watching them with rapt fascination out of the corner of his eye and smirks. The Merman swims closer still, so they're barely half a metre away from each other, somehow raising out of the water slightly, so his sculpted chest and abdomen are out of the water, their faces barely inches apart. His eyes are a beautiful mixture of hazels and greens flecked with gold, Jim notes with enthralled curiosity.

The Merman opens his mouth, as if to try to speak when a long wooden pole spears the water, startling the merman and causing him to splash back under the surface, (drenching Jim, thanks very much.) and seconds later reemerging several metres away with a heaving chest and anxious eyes.

Jim turns to the man holding the pole with a clearly unamused expression, his hair dripping in front of his eyes and his mouth tasting like the sea. 

"He's a siren." The man clarifies. "You let them sing to you and you'll be dead within the minute. They lure you underwater until you drown and then feed off-"

"I don't think that's what he was doing." Jim states, and gets a sceptical eyebrow raise in reply but the man doesn't say anything, instead going off to help draw the edges of the net in until the merman has no choice but to swim into the relatively tiny glass crate.

Jim can clearly see every detail of the merman now, from the gills to the side of his neck to the way tanned skin gradually shifts into silvery blue scales around his waist, and the particularly impressive tail which cuts through water effortlessly.

Jim shakes his head. 

He will _not_ lust after a merman.

 

***

 

"Wait!" Jim shouts. The group stops again, some tapping their feet impatiently, others just glare at the blonde.

"If this is about you needing to piss again Kirk, we are _not_ waiting for you."

Jim steps closer to the tank where the merman presses his hands against the glass, his eyes wide and panicked and cheeks puffing out in an attempt to hold precious air. "Open the tank!" Jim calls, they stare back at him in disbelief. "He can't breathe. Open the tank!"

Spock stares at him, assessing for a second before nodding to the rest of the group. They unpin the tank efficiently, pushing the top glass panel halfway off and quickly put their noise protecting headphones on. The merman pushes himself the the surface, taking in heavy gasps of air with his hands gripping the edge of the tank. Jim watches him for a moment, a myriad of expressions cross the merman's face. From fear to anger, but the worst by far is defeat. Jim tries to ignore his pang of guilt.

He slowly lowers his headphones and walks towards the tank, ignoring the protest from the group.

"Are you okay?" Jim asks, uncertain the merman can even understand him. Unsurprisingly, he doesn't get a response, the merman's gaze flickers around the group for a moment before resting on Jim once again. "You have a name? I'm Jim-"

"Kirk get back here. He can't understand you!" Sulu calls.

"We must continue onwards." Spock states. Gesturing for the tank to be re-fastened.

"Wait." A deep gravelly voice calls from behind them. The group turns look for the owner of the voice. Jim turns back to the merman, the only person it could of been. The Siren gasps for air again and coughs.

"... You can talk?!" One of the guards splutters.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." The brunette replies, voice gravelly -presumably from lack of use- and almost foreign sounding, in an intoxicatingly deep drawl that can't quite be placed. Jim grins and does a small internal victory dance.

"Bolt it and let's go!" Marcus calls, tapping his feet impatiently as one of the guards slips a book under the lid of the tank so the creature can breath.

They walk another half an hour before the group start to get tired under the fading sun. They manage a further 20 yards before one of the guards carrying the tank stumbles, causing the tank to slip at an awkward angle to the ground, shattering into thousands of shards. The merman falls to the floor with a thud, landing on the splinters of glass on the path. Jim winces sympathetically as the siren sits up, his back bloody and scratched as he curls up protectively.

Jim stares in horror, which soon turns to awe as his scales start to disappear, replaced by tanned skin, his tail morphing somehow Into muscular human legs. The merman wraps his arms around his knees and glances up somewhat ashamedly.

"You have a legs?!" One of the guards asks.

The brunette rolls his eyes. "Are all humans this observant or do you win prizes for pointing out the obvious?"

The group stare for agonisingly long seconds before Jim rushes off to fetch something from his backpack and comes back with a bundle of clothes in his arms. He drapes the shirt over the merman's shoulders, mindful of the cuts and sets about getting the ~~merman~~ _man_ into the pair of shorts, keeping a careful gaze at the mans face and _not_ looking down. The man flinches away from Jim's touch at first and then settles somewhat once he realises he's being helped.

By the time he's finished Jim's aware of a sharp pain radiating from his hand, gritting his teeth as he pulls out a shard of glass and the blood trickles down his arm. The group look more wary than before and definitely in need of rest and Jim's worried he's going to pass out from blood loss.

"You will walk." Marcus states rather than asks. The merman pushes himself to his feet shakily, ignoring Jim's offer of his good hand to help him up. Instead he stumbles and falls back to his knees, unused to walking on his newly formed feet.

"Your people need rest. Some are injured.. I can _help_ them.. But I can't walk yet." The merman Grimaces and a few of the group nod wearily in agreement.

"... Very well." Marcus sighs, after surveying the group. "We get up early in the morning. Set up camp and rest until then." He dismisses them with a wave of a hand and they waste no time in gathering their things and heading into the trees to build a suitable camp.

Jim extends a hand to the merman again, who this time accepts the help and pulls himself onto almost perfectly _steady feet?_

"You can walk?!"

"Of course, but y'all need rest." Jim doesn't fail to notice the slight limp the man carries though, and files the information away.

They walk to camp in relative silence and Jim begins to put up his tent for the night. When he turns back, he has a momentary wave of panic wash through him as the merman has gone from where he was perched on a fallen tree, inspecting the cuts on his bare feet. Jim's gaze dances across camp in search for the dark hair belonging to the impossible man.

A wave of relief washes over him, when he discovers the siren sat by one of the guards, examining the mans ankle. "-it elevated for tonight and i'll strap it in the morning." Jim catches as the siren clambers to his feet. The guard gives him a look mixed somewhere between gratitude and apprehension. "Thank you."

The merman nods and turns to Jim.

"You're staying with me tonight. If that's okay with you?" Jim asks, even though the siren doesn't really have much of a choice in the matter, but still.

The merman nods wearily, limping toward the tent with Jim a considering look on his face as if he's trying to work something out.

"You shouldn't be so close. I'm dangerous aren't I?" The brunette asks eventually, eyes forward onto the path ahead of him.

"I don't think you'll hurt us." Jim states, unsure of where his confidence has come from.

The siren stops walking and tilts his head towards Jim, his strong brow drawn into a frown. "You seem so sure... the others are afraid."

"They shouldn't be. You've had plenty of chances to kill me and I'm still here aren't I?"

"You're... _different_." Jim gapes after him in shock as the siren continues to walk on, entering their tent. Jim follows soon after.

"Will you let me look at your hand?" The merman asks, settling on the thin ground sheet after a quick glance around and the reasonably sized tent.

Jim sits next to him and presents his hand, wincing slightly as the merman unwraps the bandage, muttering apologies.

"You're a doctor?" Jim asks.

"I was the colony's healer, yes." The siren mumbles, Jim suspects that isn't the full story.

"You never answered, what's your name?"

The siren cleans the gash and starts wrapping it with a fresh bandage, fingers working deftly. "Leo. After the constellation." He finally replies.

Jim hums and trails his fingers down Leo's arm idly, not completely aware of his movements.

"Dammit Jim, stay still would you?"

"Bones." Jim says, out of the blue.

"Huh?"

"Bones." Jim repeats, fingers circling a small tattoo on the mans inner wrist, depicting 2 small -almost unnoticeable- bones. "Leo doesn't suit you. So Bones it is."

The merman raises an eyebrow at the new nickname but doesn't comment, instead ties the bandage into a neat knot. Before he can retreat though, Jim grabs his wrist.

"Why didn't you leave when you had the choice?"

Bones frowns. "I don't have anywhere to go."

"They'll kill you!" Jim's voice raises.

"Then let them!" Bones says calmly back, back slumping in the total opposite of his normal ram-rod straight posture. Jim goes still for a minute. That wasn't the answer he was expecting. Jim slumps down next to Bones, whose shoulders are heaving slightly. They stare at each other for a few moments, both with similar looks of displeasure.

 He doesn't know what posesses him to do it, perhaps it's the heat, or the isolation of this place, he tells himself. Or maybe it's down to some intoxicating pheromone that sirens possess, but he lunges, pressing his lips hungrily against Bones', and he's distantly aware that he should feel guilty or at least somewhat confused be the suddenness of it all, but at that moment, he's so acutely aware of everything and yet, nothing at all and he can't help but drown in the sensation of the merman's lips against his own.

The other man stays frozen for a moment, brain trying to catch up with the proceedings before he responds back, parting his mouth against Jim's and coaxing the blonde to do the same. He quickly takes control of the kiss, moving to straddle Jim's thighs and threads his long fingers through Jim's hair, coaxing a moan from the man.

"Shhh Jim." Bones mumbles into his neck, nipping just under his jaw. "What would the others think if they saw us like this hmm?" Jim's neck's bared to give him easier access and his kiss swollen lips parted slightly. Bones goes back to kissing him, lowering Jim back onto the thin mattress when the mans eyelids start to droop shut and promptly passes out. Bones snorts, wishing not for the first time that sirens didn't have this effect on people. Still, he was right. Jim _is_ different. Most people wouldnt of lasted _that_ long in the presence of a siren in its natural form.  "I'll be here when you wake up I promise." Bones whispers, and prepares himself for a long night.

 

***

 

Jim wakes to the sound of birds chirping and blinding sunlight streaming through a crack in the tent's doorway. He spends an uncoordinated minute trying to figure where he is before realising that he hasn't seen the siren yet. He rubs absently at the bruise formed at the juncture of his neck before trying to remember  _why_ exactly he has that bruise. Panic starts to wash over him as he starts to contemplate what he's going to say to the others when they find out the merman's escaped.

"Jim. I'm right here." Leo says from the foot of the bed, watching over Jim with slight concern. Jim bolts upright, relieved to see the brunettes face, stopping when he takes in the tear that trails down Bones' cheek.

"Hey... What's wrong?" Jim asks, though his head is swimming, like he's been conned out of all the good things that cause hangovers.

"Old memories." Leo says a little shakily, and Jim can tell he's not going to divulge anything more than that. 

"Last night... why do I feel like my head is an ocean?" Jim asks, though of what he's not entirely sure.

"Chemical agent in our saliva, makes the prey drown quicker by knocking them out." The siren says through clenched teeth. _Ok, so that explains the bite mark._ "You needed the rest... I was..scared you wouldn't wake up." Leo admits softly, looking down at his palms.

"You don't make a habit of biting strangers then?" Jim says somewhat snarkily, though his head _does_ feel like it's been used as a baseball. The siren looks.. confused, confusingly. Then his eyes fall on the bruise on Jim's neck and he seems to understand. 

"I.. No." he finally mutters, handing Jim a couple of painkillers and a paper cup of water that had been waiting on standby. 

The blonde sighs and takes pity on the man. "You were right. I needed the rest... But the memory loss.. Is that normal?" Jim asks, swallowing down the painkillers and rubbing his head as if to ease away the pain.

"I.. don't know. They're always in the water when they're knocked out... And, well, you can probably guess what happens after..." Leo has the decency to look guilty, _or is that anger? "_ I don't think anyone's survived before..." 

"Well, that's me. The survivor." Jim says brightly, though he refuses to admit how true that statement is. He takes a moment to survey the man in front of him, noting the cuts peppered across long bare legs,  the shirt that's just a little too small on the shoulders, once white and now stained a reddish/pinky colour due to the mixture of blood and water.

The man looks a little haggard, but surely he didn't spend _all_  night watching over Jim. He's not sure whether to feel creeped out or amused. 

"Can I take a look at your back?" Jim asks, and no, that's _not_ an excuse to see Leo shirtless again. Nope. No sir-ee.

The siren nods and undoes the few buttons he actually bothered to do up, grimacing as he peels the shirt of and it pulls at the scabbed cuts. Most of them start bleeding again, but none look infected, Jim notes with relief. Still, he digs out an antiseptic from the med kit his team are required to keep with them at all times. Leo flinches a little when the cold cream comes into contact with his skin, humming in response to the mumbled apology Jim gives. 

He idly massages in the antisceptic, watching with fascination as it creates swirling patterns against golden skin. "turn around, would you?" Jim asks once he's satisfied with his work, of course not taking into account this new position puts the face to face within centimeters of each other. "Hi." He says eloquently, but really it's all he can say when their noses are practically brushing and he's in full view of those hazel/green/golden irises.

"Hi yourself." Leo says with a small twitch of the lips. Jim mentally shakes his head, pulling back a little to start work on the siren's chest. 

"I never killed anyone, just so you know." Leo says, and Jim looks up at him in surprise from where he was focused on a particulally deep cut along the man's collar bone. 

"So, vegetarian mermaid, huh?" 

Bones makes a surprised sound, followed by a disgruntled one. "Infant." he says, barely smothering a smile. " _Merman_ Jim. Do I look like a woman to you?"

"Well-"

"Don't you _dare_ finish that sentence."

Jim grins, pausing his trailing fingers and leans in just a little, watching as the siren tracks his movements, lips parted subconsciously, and he tilts his own head in response, eyelids lowered seductively and lips _so_ close and he wonders why this all seems so familiar-

"Everyone up! Lets get going!" Marcus calls from somewhere in the camp, startling both of them enough to pull back quickly. There's not much time to acknowledge what just happened- What was _going_ to happen, but he expects that'll come later. For now, he passes Leo another shirt, pulls one of his own on after he slips on his boots. 

"C'mon. We better go." Jim says, encouraging him towards the door.

"Kirk." Marcus greets, standing in the middle of the camp very much looking like he owns the place. 

"Sir." Jim replies.

"You find anything?" The older man asks. Leo frowns as he's pushed towards the middle of the group by one of the guards, a security officer gripping his wrists at an awkward angle.

Jim fiddles with the zip of his jacket before sighing. "He's a doctor, he can't go back to the colony for some reason, can't or _won't_ sleep. Their Saliva contains agents that cause exhaustion which helps to kill their prey... lower back and foot pains from changing to human form... ." Jim recites with Forced enthusiasm.

"Very good Kirk." Marcus praises. Jim glances to the merman who is swiftly kicked in the back by one of the guards, his body crumpling to the floor but never taking eye contact off Jim. He hisses in anger as one of the guards handcuffs his arms behind his back but there's only one expression crossing his usually so emotive face...

 _Betrayal_.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why do I get the feeling that I am going to get shouted at via form of reviews? Huh, I dunno. *whistles*

 

_It's when Leo stops struggling that he's the most dangerous_ , Jim muses. It's easy to underestimate the danger of someone that looks and _acts_ compliant, even through the relentless beating the guards are delivering he only gives them the satisfaction of a few pained grunts.

The silence only encourages he guards further, trying to gauge a reaction from the siren. The grunts of pain become more frequent and Jim can't stand to witness anymore.

"Cupcake! That's enough don't you think?" Jim shouts to one of the guards.

Cupcake stops and steps back as Leo raises his head slightly, just enough to spit blood in Jim's general direction.

"Everyone pack up! We're leaving in ten!" Marcus calls.

The guards back off, Cupcake leaning down to pull the merman onto his feet by his handcuffs. The siren hisses, a feral warning sound that's interpreted as _back the fuck up and leave me alone._

Jim turns his head away, unable to watch as the man somehow pushes himself to his feet, hands still bound behind his back and bruises blooming over his skin, blood trickling down his back from the re-opened cuts.

He growls, something unintelligible and definitely not English.

"Y'know..." Marcus starts, eying the merman with an uninterested expression. "This would go a lot easier for you if you didn't struggle. Don't even think about trying to escape either. I'll put a bullet brought your head before you can get 20 meters, got it?"

The siren stares back at him with a clearly annoyed expression, defiance etched across his face but bows his head in a surrendering gesture when Marcus pulls the handgun from the back of his trousers and aims it towards him.

Point proven, Marcus tucks the gun back into his trousers and moves away, letting Cupcake take over watching the brunette. Spock watches over them a couple of meters away, keeping a careful watch over the merman with interest.

"Wha'd'you want?" The merman asks, half grumbled out.

"I represent Grason corporation to watch over the proceedings."

"I don't care if you represent the _lollipop guild_ right now, do you have any proceedings you can watch somewhere else?" Leo glares up at the man while Jim barely manages to muffle his laughter in his shirt sleeve. Clearly not getting hate subtle hint, 'Mr-stick-up-the-ass' raises an eyebrow.

"He means "go away" Spock." Jim clarifies. The man inclines his head and moves away, gaze lingering on the pair momentarily. Jim turns back to the siren. "Where'd you watch the Wizard of Oz?"

 

"Ya'll seem to of got the impression I've never stood on two legs before." Bones states and turns his head away. Jim huffs, clearly not satisfied with the answer. _You've_ _really screwed this one up, haven't you Jimmy?_

"Jim! Come pack your stuff! I'm not doing it for you!" Uhura calls. Jim follows her, regretfully leaving the siren in the not-entirely capable hands of lieutenant 'Cupcake.'

Half an hour later they're on the road again, traipsing though the overgrown pathway to a large rural town, where two black vans wait for them. Marcus, Spock, Nyota and a few researchers and a few security guards clamber into the first one. Jim sidles up to the second van -driven by Sulu- and grins.

"Ah! You made it!" Chekov chirps from the passenger seat. "Vheres zhe mermaid?" He asks.

"You're looking at him." Jim replies as he clambers into the back, followed closely by Leo and Cupcake.

"But he's-"

"A guy. Yeah I get that a lot." The siren fills in.

"I vas going to say 'human' but zhat vorks too." Chekov replies all too cheerfully. The van journey is a little awkward to say the least, the siren keeps his head down and mouth pressed into a thin line. Not replying to any of the attempts at making conversation the group offers. When the van stops to a sharp halt -almost sending everyone flying toward the back of the van- Sulu sends an apology to the back, climbing out of the front seat and opening the doors so that everyone can clamber out.

When the merman sees their destination, he can't help it. He laughs, a deep rumbling sound that Jim can't help but fall in love with.

"What's so funny?" He asks.

The merman shakes his head. "You'll see." Is all he replies with, making his own way towards the hospitals research lab without any resistance or in fact, persuasion. Jim and the others all run to catch up with him, meeting admiral Marcus and the others at the entrance.

 

"Leonard. What _have_ you got yourself into this time?" Geoffrey M'Benga asks as he steps into the room, a mischievous smirk plastered on his face. "We got a phone call asking for use of one of our labs for a research project. Rumour has it a dangerous mermaid had been captured. You wouldn't know anything about that would you?"

"S'that right?" Leo replies, looking visibly relieved to see the man. They clearly know each other well, much to everyone's shock. "Dangerous mer* _maid_ *?! When will they ever get it right?" He sighs.

The doctor laughs lightheartedly. "Don't worry Len, I set 'em straight. I told 'em you're _cantankerous_ mermaid. There's not a dangerous bone in you."

"You're a sucky friend Geoff." Geoff laughs again.

 

"Gentlemen. Are the guns really necessary?" 'Geoff' asks the group, eying their guns but radiating a cool calmness with an underlying authoritative tone. "Doctor Geoffrey M'Benga." He greets.

"How'd you know each other?" Jim asks, gaze flickering between the two men.

"Oh. Len what happened to those southern country boy manners your momma taught you? You haven't introduced yourself properly?" Geoff asks innocently.

"Must've forgotten them somewhere in between getting kidnapped and the last time I had a gun held to my head." He reposts.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet the esteemed surgeon and local heartthrob, Leonard McCoy. My boss." Geoff says theatrically.

Jim openly gapes for a second, watching the small blush blooming over McCoy's cheeks. "You're the owner of this place." Jim splutters.

"Your status doesn't change the fact you're a-" Marcus starts, only to be cut off my a small high pitched shrieking sound. The group raise their weapons instinctively.

"Daddddddyyyyyy!" A young girl cries, bounding towards the group.

"Joanna." The merman hisses.

Their weapons hang loosely in their grips as she hurtles towards the siren, who instinctively drops to his knees to wrap the girl in a tight hug. Long, dark wavy hair hangs in front of her eyes that are unmistakably like Leo's own. She peers up over the mans shoulder to observe the group. "Daddy?" She says again, leaning back in the man's embrace. "What happened to your face?" She enquires, looking pointedly at the bruises and cuts creeping over his complexion.

"I fell over sweetheart." He replies, turning his head to send a glare to Admiral Marcus.

The girl, seemingly satisfied with the reasoning, settles in his arms more comfortably. "Miss chapel has been showing me how to be a proper doctor, like you." She says excitedly.

"S'that so?" He replies with a small smile, eyes still trained on the group with a threatening glare telling them to stay the hell away.

"You bet! And grandma Ellie's been teaching me how to ride the horses! ... When're you coming home?" The little girl asks, and Jim's heart breaks just a little.

"I don't know darlin'. Real soon ok? You go tell miss Chapel I'm here now won't you? I'll come read you a story later." He says and kisses her forehead, staring after her as she nods enthusiastically and retreats to fetch miss Chapel.

"You have a daughter?" Jim asks, eyes wide in shock.

"Y'all stay away from her. She's human and none of your concern." He lifts an eyebrow, daring anyone to challenge him, standing up and taking a defensive stance.

"We'll leave her alone if you co-operate Dr. McCoy." Marcus threatens.

"What if I don't?"

Marcus raises his gun, any others who have weapons do the same with the exception of Jim. Nyota is wearing a sour expression, her brow drawn together fiercely. She creeps up beside him, nudging his hand towards his gun. "Y'know I'm always telling you to be more careful? This isn't one of those times Jim." She whispers near his ear. Jim takes it he has her permission to do something reckless and irresponsible and quite frankly dangerous for once instead of the normal berating he gets from her when he leaps before he looks.

"I can't let you do that sir." Jim says, gripping his handgun and turning to face the group, standing near the siren.

"Just what do you think you're doing son?" Marcus asks.

Jim grimaces at the sound of the word 'son' coming from Marcus' mouth. "He's sentient." Jim states, ignoring the question.. "He has a daughter. If you're going to kill him or use him like a lab rat... you'll have to shoot me first." He says, standing his ground.

"Jim." Leonard grinds out, looking at the blonde with wide eyes.

"Not now."

"Don't make me shoot you." Marcus threatens. The rest of the group let their guns clatter to the floor, watching the two men with eagle eyes.

"Leonard?" A female voice calls from the door. Jim takes his eyes off Marcus to look at the woman, temporarily distracted by the interruption.

A shot rings through the room and Jim's vision whites out, just able to make out the shouts and screams coming through the room, the hard floor under his legs and the broad, sturdy frame that catches him from falling, two hands pressed against his stomach.

 " _Bones_." Jim gasps, though it sounds distant to his eare.

Leo's rumbling voice answers close to his ear telling him to just ' _breathe dammit_.' In between barking orders to his fellow doctors and nurses.

' _Just breathe_ ' The siren in his head sings, but Jim can't help but drown.

 

 

 

 

**Yes, I did do fanart of my own work. Yes, I am a sad person. Yes, I am a well aware TYVM**

Link to fantabulous fanart: http://app.sketchclub.com/sketch/10244416

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk what happened ok? I wasn't planning on writing Joanna and then I got distracted by the image of Spock as a munchkin and she just appeared on my page. I promise it'll all be clearer next time.. Just as soon as my head stops feeling fuzzy. Feel free to release your frustration below:


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Told in Jims POV

First thing he notices is a annoying steady beeping coming from something irritatingly close to his head and in contrast, a quiet soothing murmur of a hushed voice originating from somewhere to his left. A clinical smell of anaesthetic, flowers, and another, more oaky intoxicating smell that almost drowns out the pain pounding in his temples, floods his senses.

It clears his head a little more, but when he tries to blink awake to check his surroundings, his eyelids feel heavy, the same as his arms and legs that lets him know he's drifting in between some sort of drug induced euphoria and a harsh land of consciousness that all together seems too bright, too painful and too harsh to seem like a feasible place to wake up to.

A bright light shines directly above him, to wit he squints at accusingly. The muffled voice is a little clearer now, but he still can't quite place whose it is.

"-self sacrificing idiot. You're one lucky son of a bitch, y'know that?" He manages to catch in his drug addled state.

"Such nice things you say." He slurs back in reply to... Whojama-call it?

"...Jim?!" The voice calls as a cool hand rests on his cheek, tilting his face to the left and his line of sight thankfully away from the bright overhead light. "Thank god. You're alright."

As the hand retreats he manages to catch the faint outline of a tattoo on his wrist. "'Ones?" Sure enough, the blurry figure starts to focus, the man's eyes shining a bright forest green in the rooms stark lighting. "You 'ave pretty eyes." Jim states, and then focus his attention on his hand as if it's the most fascinating thing he's ever seen. Bones laughs.

"They've got you on the good stuff eh Jimmy?"

He pouts as if considering the statement, then turns his attention on Bones again. "You 'Kay?"

The man huffs another sigh of amusement. "Don' worry about me. You're the one in the hospital bed."

Right. Hospital. Uhh... "Wha- happened?"

"Alexander Marcus happened. You decided to play martyr and get shot. Remember that?"

Jim nods slowly in reply and then sits up suddenly, and Bones doesn't miss the grimace as he does so. "Bones! Your daughter? Is she-?"

Leo eases him gently back onto the bed with a gentle palm pressed against Jim's chest. "She's fine. Won't stop goin' on about you though, 'my night in shining armour' apparently." Len says with a teasing smile on his lips.

"Does that make you my damsel in distress Bones?" Jim asks, his eyes closed but his lip quirked upwards.

"Idiot. Go to sleep." Len mutters in reply, pushing the stray strands of golden hair back from Jims face.

"Only if you sing me a song."

"That's definitely not a good idea kid."

"But Bones! What about my happily ever after?"

He gets a flick on the forehead for his efforts, but his eyes snap open when soft lips come into contact with his own in a gentle fleeting kiss.

"There. You happy now?" Bones asks, rubbing circles onto the top of Jim's hand with his thumb.

"Better." Jim grins, and sinks back onto the mattress contentedly.

 "I'm gonna be gone for a couple of days. Your team are all waiting to see you, I'd get some rest before M'Benga gives in and let's them all wear ya out."

"Where'you going?"

"Not good for me to be out of water for too long. Especially with the stress. Besides, I have some things to take care of." Jim doesn't miss the fact the siren didn't mention his own injuries, but the way he's sitting gingerly on his chair like he's afraid to lean back tells Jim more than the siren could ever tell him.

"You shou- get fixed up too." Jim slurs, guilt and drug-induced sleep fogging his vision again and vaguely wonders when Bones upped his medication.

"I'll be back Jim. I promise." Len says, stroking Jim's hair lightly as the blonde drifts back to unconsciousness.

 

 

He wakes again, a few hours later, to Gaila's all too cheery face peering down at him with the barest hint of concern.

"Hullo." Jim says, blinking his eyes open a few times before the world starts to focus, mouth dry but head so much clearer than the last time he woke.

"So eloquent Jimmy." Gaila responds, a bright smile on her face. " _So_." She starts, a secretive look she wears that Jim knows all too well.

"So?"

"Why didn't you tell me about your new hot doctor boyfriend?" Gaila asks, a mischievous grin on her face.

Jim sighs. "He's not my-"

Gaila makes this face that says something along the lines of 'you're in idiot and I know better than you, so bow down to your superior and peel me another grape' look that only Gaila could ever achieve.

"Really? Because you woke up half an hour ago and listed all his best assets to me. I think Santa's 'nice' list is shorter than yours. But you were right, he really _does_ have a great ass."

Jim pouts. "Hey! He's mine!" He immediately regrets saying it, because the grin is so wide on Gaila's face that it nearly blocks out the overhead light. "You shouldn't hold drug induced conversations against me. No fair."

"So. Who is he?"

Jims sighs in defeat. "You know that top secret mission I couldn't tell you about but did anyway?"

"The mermaid? Yeah, I remember. Did you find her?"

Jim sighs again. " _Him_. We found _him_."

"Oh." Gaila says and then her eyes widen. "Oh! That's him isn't it? The doctor?"

He frowns. "How did you-"

"He told me he had to go back to the coast to sort out some family business. That and he talks funny." When Jim opens his mouth to protest, she interrupts quickly. "Not that his accent isn't _to die for_ Jimmy, he just has a funny way of wording things"

"Oh. Well he's a siren-"

She harrumphs. "Figures."

Jim silences her with a glare. "He said he's never killed anyone. I believe him."

"Of course you do, you talk about him like you're under his spell."

Getting the hint, he sighs and sinks down onto his bed. He'd thought about it before, of course. He's never felt such a strong connection to anyone before. Bones is... Different, intoxicating, a miracle of nature, friggin' _gorgeous_. But he's designed to be. And he's so drawn to the man it's like it physically _pains_ Jim for the siren to be away from him. And that's what worries the blonde the most. How reliant he's become on a near stranger.

Right. So he's under some sort of spell. The siren must of sung to him at some point.

Yeah, that's gotta be it.

So why doesn't he feel angry? Or even upset?

He sighs again. It's gonna be a long wait to get some answers.

"Anyway, I'm glad you're ok Jimmy. You scared me to death." Gaila says, breaking him out of his reverie.

"Yeah I'm fine. I'm just tired." He wouldn't be tired if he hadn't jumped in front of a bullet for a man he barely knows, He thinks. So Why does he just want the siren to come back to him?

"I'll let you get some rest. You look awful."

"Thanks doctor Gaila ma'am. You make me feel so much better."

"You're welcome, sunshine." She says, patting his hand patronisingly as his eyes slip shut. Just as he's about to drift off, Gaila says in a completely normal tone of voice, "I'll just sit here and post that video I took of you declaring your undying devotion to your 'sexy God of love' on facebook shall I?"

His eyes snap open, fully alert. "Gaila!"

***

  
It takes four days of bed rest, visits from friends and a tonne of medication before he's able to stand, albeit gingerly and only for a few agonising minutes, but he takes it as a victory anyway. No one from the hospital has heard from Bones yet though, and that's what worries Jim, he said he'd be gone a only few days hadn't he?

Maybe he left. He might stay in the sea and live as a siren.

And leave his daughter? No. Joanna's visited Jim more than a few times, she talks about her father as if he's the best person in the universe.

So? Maybe the 'family business' is taking longer then he'd originally thought.

Yes, that's got to be it.

"Don' worry Mr Jim. Daddy always comes back form the ocean. He said he'd take me to visit the colony when things are better again." She says brightly.

"I thought he said you were human Joanna?"

She bites her lip, clearly sensing her slip up. She considers him for a moment, before reaching into her ever present bag and pulling out a vial. "You saved my dad.. So I trust you." She states solemnly. "You promise not to tell?"

"I promise."

"Pinky swear?" She asks, and Jim's heart melts into a metaphorical puddle of goop.

"Pinky swear Joanna." Jim says in all seriousness.

She bites her lip again. "Daddy gave me this in case we were ever caught. It effects the genes so our blood looks normal... but only for a little while." She holds up the vial. "It's only for emergencies." She carefully places it back into her bag with a small frown on her face that resembles Bones' perfectly.

"Where do you think he is now?" Jim asks, sensing her change of mood. She brightens up a little, much to his relief.

"He'll be with the merfolk. They're so beautiful. They have tails all different colours like a rainbow." She sighs happily. "Mine is boring silver. But daddy says that'll change when I get older."

"But silver is my favourite! The colour of wild bunny rabbits and stars and spaceships!" Jim says enthusiastically.

"Jiiiim, there's no such thing as spaceships!"

Jim's jaw opens in mock horror. "There is too! How do you think I got here?"

She giggles, her laughter soothing his anxiety slightly.

***3 days later***

He can walk (just about) thanks to M'Benga's help. Everyday he gets a little further down the hall, but M'Benga warned him not to overdo it, so today he's bedridden. Secretly, he's thankful. His muscles are aching like hell.

"Must be killing you to be sitting here all day right?" Hikaru says with a sly grin.

"Nah not really, I've been enjoying the scenery." Jim says glumly, looking around the stark hospital room with thinly veiled contempt.

"Oh, really?" 'Karu says, standing to his feet and moving slowly towards the exit. "Because if you're enjoying yourself so much I should just go a-"

"Don't you dare leave me!" Jim pleads from his bed. "I'm sooooo boooreeeed!" He says with a whine.

Sulu turns back to Jim, wearing that damn smug smirk, the bastard. He goes back to sit on the chair by Jim's bed. "fine. What do you want to talk about?" When Jim opens his mouth to reply, sulu quickly interrupts. "Not. About. Your. Siren. We're planning an intervention if his name comes out of your lips one more time."

Jim's cheeks go a furious shade of pink. "Oh look." Says Sulu, "you've gone the same colour as Spock does every time you mention sex around him."

"You're a bad friend and I hate you." Declares Jim.

"No you don't."

Jim sighs. "Maybe not yet, but I'm getting there."

"So.. What d'you wanna do? Braid each other's hair and talk about boys?"

Jim gets a scarily excitable expression on his face that Hikaru inwardly curses at. "Yeah! What's the deal with you and everyone's favourite Russian kid-genius?"

Silly splutters. "There's nothing going on with me and Pasha, I mean... Pavel!!!"

Jim doesn't get time to savour the glorious blush that blooms across Hikaru's face because he's interrupted by the rush of a medical team running down the corridor, followed closely by M'Benga shouting for a gurney and Jim sits up maybe a little too quickly for his healing abdomen to try and catch who the gurney is for.

He has a horrible feeling he knows already.

"Jim. Stay. There." Hikaru says as he rushes out of the room to investigate, coming back an agonising few minutes later with a heaving chest and a sorrowful expression across his face.

"Jim." He says gently, and that's all he really needs to say. "It's him."

"No." Jim whispers, disbelieving. "No."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Laughs because this started off as a relitavely cracky and deteriorated from there. I'm sorry. Good news is, after this story is done, in about 2/3 chapters time, I'm writing a crack sequel where Bones looses a bet and has to sing kareoke in a bar and people flock around him because hello? Super sexy siren! and then Jim gets all jealous like "hands off my boyfriend! He's *my* siren!" And then maybe smut. 
> 
> So... Yeah.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I wish you luck my friends.
> 
> ~~I'm sorry~~

  ~~~~

"Jim, Calm down." Sulu says, trying to ease Jim back in the bed. "Having a panic attack isn't gonna help him. I'm not gonna lie, it looked bad but he's gonna get through this, ok?"

Jim nods dumbly, pulling the covers up to his chest and fiddling with the edge of his sheet with his thumb. His head snapping up to attention when the door opens cautiously.

"Mister Kirk." The nurse Christine Chapel sighs. "You need to calm down, your vitals are going crazy." She scorns, checking the monitors with a distracted frown.

"How is he?" Jim asks, desperation unbridled.

"Alive." Is all she says, giving him a weary glance. "We don't know much yet, but I'll keep you up to date if you promise to stay still and let yourself heal."

He sinks back onto the mattress, ignoring the approving look he earns from Chapel.

"He's in good hands." Chapel says, taking pity on the man. "Leonard chose all his medical staff by hand, they're the best in the field. If there was anyone who could help Len, its M'Benga, ok?" She sounds more like she's trying to convince herself more than Jim, but he's grateful anyway.

Jim nods sullenly again while Christine sits herself gracefully to the chair next to him, her elbows resting on her thighs and mouth covered by her hands, her brave facade quickly melting away. Sulu does his best to distract them both, talking of nothing in particular while they fidget anxiously and stare accusingly (Jim to the ceiling, Chapel to the floor) Sulu sighs in defeat, muttering something about a coffee break 'because he's gonna need it.'

Not three minutes later she stands, brushing off her uniform determinedly, and Jim's almost shocked at how quickly she's able to pull on a brave facade, all evidence of her anxiety dissipating as quickly as it came.

"Duty calls." She states. "I'll be back." And exists the room, leaving Jim alone with his thoughts.

 

***

_Sirens are assholes. The lot of 'em._ He thinks miserably as he swims closer to the shore, more floats really but hey, semantics.

He's glad it's overcast, the beach is pretty much empty, which is fortunate, because the scales around his waist are starting to disappear as he limps out of the water and he'd rather not scar small children by walking out of the ocean naked and bleeding. There's one couple camped out on the beach, and they don't notice him until he trips over his newly formed feet and shouts in pain, struggling to push himself up off the cold, damp sand.

"Hey! You okay man?!" The guy calls as the couple rush over to help.

"Just peachy. Thought I'd go on a spontaneous holiday, you know. Naked. Face first in the sand. On a cold beach." He groans, and then bites back any other remarks that are gonna slip from his mouth. "Sorry." He bites out, grimacing.

"No problem." The guy smiles, and then his eyes grow wide when Len stands up. His smile quickly fades as he notices the wound, jarred flesh ripped open in a nasty lesion just above his knee from where the knife missed his abdomen and caught his tail instead.

"Geez man, you're really bleeding out." He says, and then stumbles back when he notices the ugly protruding silvery green lines running from the wound to his foot, and beginning to wind up his torso. The scales around his shins becoming more noticeable where the waves lash against his feet.

" _Shit_ " Len mutters, running a weary palm down his face as the couple hastily run in the opposite direction, thankfully not picking up their change of clothes. He takes the guys spare shorts and pulls out his cell phone from the pocket, tossing it to the sand by the rest of their stuff because he knows fully well he won't get any signal until he walks a few hours inland.

The talk with the colony, it's fair to say, hadn't gone well. As soon as he'd shown up there'd been a minor uproar, despite the fact that -contrary to popular belief- he hadn't murdered his father just to take his position the siren's hierarchy. 5 years ago his father had refused to come out of the ocean to receive treatment, and you can't perform surgery in the sea, which left one last option; to aid his fathers suicide or watch him die slowly and painfully.

It hadn't been pleasant, in fact, he'd been banished from the colony while his mother had watched silently. Jocelyn was too busy with her lover, Clay to notice, or in fact care. Joanna was considered bad blood, so he had no choice but to take her with him to live with the humans.

He wouldn't of returned at all had it not been necessary, but Marcus had let his intentions be clear that he's not going to let the merman situation drop, and Len has no doubts about what will happen if the existence of Merfolk comes out publicly. So, almost four days ago now, he had decided to inform the colony of his decision to declare himself a siren to the world before Marcus does and condemns them all to a life of experimentation. Maybe by showing humans that mermen have no interest in taking over the world, they won't retaliate by holding the Merfolk captive in aquariums.

Of course, the colony hadn't liked it one bit. The council visibly bristled when he told them of his plans, but dammit! He _needs_ their support.

"Leo. You are not welcome here." The head of the council had warned, baring his long teeth slightly.

"Really? I'm sorry, I mistook the look of hatred on your face for excitement when I turned up." Leo returns, tail flicking in annoyance.

"You've spent too much time with the humans, Leo. You've become impertinent."

"And who's fault is that?"

"No one's but your own-"

"I helped my father in the only way I could at the time! Which was a helluva lot more than any of you ever did for him. Joanna grew up without a mother because of your bigoted decisions!" He had run a tired palm down his face, casting a weary glance to Jocelyn, who'd swam near to her partner, Clay with a guilty expression written across her face. "Look, I'm telling you this out of polite curtsy, not because I have an obligation to fulfil. Marcus has a personal vendetta against me, and he's going to make sure each and every one of us is either experimented on or put on a goddamn show if we don't act now."

"I'm sorry Leo, truly I am, but I just can't let you go through with this. We have evaded the humans for this long, we shall continue to do so." The leader had said, gesturing at two of the colonial guards. He caught the glint of the siren blade quickly, as it was aimed for his abdomen, where the poison laced metal would be most effective to kill him. He had dodged it though, it instead landing solidly in his tail, drawing out a strangled cry of pain as a red cloud of blood tinted the water around him.

He'd given them one last fleeting look of betrayal before taking off toward the shore, knowing fully well that while they're faster than him in water, they don't stand a chance of catching up with him on land, even with a stab wound to the leg.

  
He walks for hours through the forest, despite the agony, and tries not to look down at the winding silvery lines that are beginning to crawl up his torso, threatening to twist around his heart and throat.

He sinks down to the foot of an old tree, his heart beat feeling sluggishly slow. He sighs, leaning his head back against the tree and looks up at the sky through the tall branches.

Logically, he knows no one is looking for him. He said he'd be gone a couple of days, though he's been known to get held up before. Besides, even if someone _had_ noticed his disappearance, they couldn't do a thing about it. Legally, he doesn't exist. There's no record of his birth and no medical records to prove it. Sure, there's plenty of information about him on medical sites, papers, he even owns a house and is the owner of a whole friggin' research facility, but there's no _actual_ record of him ever being born, so getting the police involved is not an option.

He sighs again, his chest getting just a little tighter making it that much harder to breathe.

He thinks to Joanna, so innocent and sweet and young, who probably hasn't even thought that something might of happened to her father. The thought makes his already straining heart ache. He decides he  _won't_ die out in the forest like some slaughtered animal, to be found later by some poor unsuspecting dog walker like it always happens on TV.

Pushing himself up, he unleashes a strangled cry at the strain it puts on his leg, the sweat running down his back and pooling at the dip of his lower spine.

He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes and thinks of bright cerulean eyes, gold flaxen hair and a charming, cocky grin. _Goddamn it, what's happened to me?_ He's known the guy less than 3 weeks, for crying out loud, when did he get so dependant on a near stranger?

He raises his hand against the light shining directly in his eyes through the trees, shaking slightly at the sight of the protruding lines running down his arms to his fingertips.

"Hey! Hey!" A blurry figure calls, approaching him quickly. "Are You okay?!"

"No." He gasps, his vision getting darker around the edges as he grasps onto the guys shirt sleeve for support.

"You're not looking too good pal, you walk far to get here?" The guy asks, pulling out his cell from his pocket.

"The shore." He coughs, his eyelids feeling unbearably heavy.

"That's a long way from here...Hey, dude you need to stay awake." He says, then answers the operator on the phone. "Ambulance." He states into the speaker. "There's a guy here who's been stabbed. Looks... Infected or something. You gotta hurry, he looks like he's fading."

He gives the details of their location, but the guys voice seems distant and fuzzy, like a distant haze, and suddenly his own legs and arms feel the same way, distant, like he's gonna collapse.

"Tell them it's Doctor McCoy." He tells the stranger, and then promptly passes out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by McChekirkhan, all mistakes are completely her fault. 
> 
> I kid, she is a competent beta-er who puts up with all of my bull shit. 
> 
> Love you John! :3 (you love me too, I know you do.)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ok. This chapter was an absolute f**ker to write, excuse the language. I'm sorry it's so late, life, exams, and my permanent mental block got in the way. I absolutely hated writing this, and because I've read it so many times I haven't bothered to check through it. As far as I'm aware there aren't any mistakes but if there is please let me know.  
> Uh I hope you enjoy anyway.

There's a fine line between reality and the thoughts inside his head, a harsh cacophony of sounds and memories, pain and laughter. The wailing of an ambulance in the distance, intertwined with the image of the ocean. He stands, everything so quiet as he looks out to sea, just the sound of his own breathing and the ambulances distant alarm audible, but the crashing waves don't make a sound. 

He turns his head, the harbour behind him is desolate, a void of empty white space that stretches for miles on end. He is alone. Alone in a big world with only the sea to keep him company. There's no one here, just blank spaces where people should be. 

He pushes a breath out through his lips, the small sound echoing in the silence and walks toward the shore. The waves lap at his feet, but there's no water, his skin isn't even wet, no scales where they should be. So unbearably, perfectly human. 

He vaguely wonders if he's dead. If this is all that waits for him after life. An eternity of everything and nothing all at once. 

He walks farther and farther out, even as his head is submerged under water he breathes in like its air. No scales, no gills, no water, just isolation. A small glimmer of dark blue catches his eye, and he's caught staring at himself, only, himself in _true_ siren form, shimmering scales and all, staring back at him though the water. He raises his hand in greeting, his throat too sore to talk. The siren nods back, hair floating above him and tail cutting effortlessly through the water with every broad sweep. They share one last fleeting look and then the siren turns and disappears through the water.

He steadily walks back to the shore, emerging fully dry despite the fact he's leaving wet footprints in the sand. 

How long has he been here? Minutes? Hours? Days? There's no sense of time here, just the rhythmic shrill of the ambulance siren. Always getting closer but never arriving. 

"I agree. It's a little empty in here." A voice says behind him, and it only takes a second to recognise it as his own. He turns to face.. _his human self_... His _reflection_ If it weren't for the scrubs the other is wearing, legs crossed and sleeves rolled up to his elbows, arms crossed over his broad chest. "Hi." His other self greets, waving a hand. 

He opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out, like something's wrapped around his throat. He blinks heavily, sluggishly as a strangled sound escapes from his mouth.

"Shhh" The doctor hushes, holding his finger to Len's lips and then shaking his head. "You need to wake up." He whispers, then vanishes, leaving Len to stare out into the abyss of white space. The ambulance siren is louder, closer and all the while the hands around his throat and heart grasp tighter. 

His eyelids flutter closed and he sucks in a strangled breath, eyes opening again to the stretch of empty space, and it's there, in the background, but something's changed. Two paramedics stand tentatively above him, hands poised over his breastbone in case his heart stops beating again. He splutters, air filling his lungs. 

"Ok he's breathing! Let's get him in the back!" One of the paramedics calls, and he knows that voice from the hospital. His lips quirk upwards a little as the paramedic pushes an oxygen mask over Len's mouth and wheels him into the back of the ambulance. 

***

It's a full hour before Christine Chapel returns to his bedside, wearing somewhat of an apologetic but very grim look on her face. He sits up quickly, bracing himself by his hands as his paperwork falls to the floor in an unmitigated heap.

"He's alive." Chapel sighs, slumping slightly. He lets out a breath he hadn't known he was holding and leans back a little, staring at the ceiling. "He crashed twice." She adds, and he stiffens again. 

"What happened?" Jim demands. Chapel stays silent, her gaze focused on the floor. "What. Happened?" Jim repeats, and her gaze meets his. 

"He was stabbed. Left thigh."

Jim frowns. "But that wouldn't-" 

"The blade was poisoned." Chapel continues. "We don't know the contents of the poison so we can't make an antidote until we've done a proper analysis. Hell, I'm not even sure we'll find a cure if it originates from the siren colony." 

"So what'll happen to him?" 

"He's being kept stable for the meantime, but we don't know how long it will last. If we can't find the cure then we're going to have to risk experimental cures which could react with his physiology." 

He's about to ask how great the risk is, but Christine's pained expression tells him more than she could've spoken. "When can I see him?" He asks instead. 

"You'll have to wait another hour, but I'm warning you. It doesn't look pretty."

And she's right, it doesn't look pretty at all. He takes the chair next to Len's bedside cautiously, never once taking his eyes off the man beside him. He's pale, deathly so, and fragile looking. The wires hooked up to machines on the other side of the bed disappear under the sheets, which are pulled right up to his chin. Jim nudges the sheet down a little, just enough to see the greenish protruding lines winding around Leo's neck and disappearing under the covers. 

"This is from the poison?" Jim asks with a calm sort of rage, an anger that could end up killing a man and it both unsettles Christine and gives her a sense of relief that the good doctor has someone to look out for him, even if it's a near stranger. 

"Yes. We think it was shutting down his heart and lungs. Hence why we have him on oxygen and life support. He's stable, so long as he's wired up. We're just lucky it didn't spread to the brain." 

Jim shakes his head, disbelieving. "His own family did this to him." He whispers. Chapel exits the room quietly, lingering at the doorway to watch as Jim reaches under the cover for the other mans hand, threading his fingers between the sleeping man's own. She smiles ruefully, and gives them some privacy by closing the door firmly behind her. If she gives them a little extra time, nobody needs to know about it.

 

"I thought I told you to be careful, you beautiful idiot." Jim says with a small smirk once Chapel makes herself scarce. He bows his head, rubbing at the back of his neck with his free hand. 

 

"You're not so bad yoursel'" Comes the mumbled reply from the bed, voice croaky and laced with pain. Jim gapes in surprise, but Len has his eyes firmly closed, the hand resting in his own grasp squeezes back a little though, and the oxygen mask has been pushed off so that it hangs around the mans neck. It's enough to reassure Jim that it _was_ Len speaking, and not part of his imagination. 

"You're awake?!" Jim gasps, and then suddenly buzzes with energy. "Should I go fetch a doctor? Hold on I'll be-"

"Jim." Len interrupts quietly, his eyes still stubbornly closed. "M'fine. The anaesthetic doesn't work as well on our systems. Chris knows I'm awake anyway. S'fine."

Jim settles a little, but leans over the bed, his face hovering over Leonard's concernedly. Len opens one fairly bloodshot eye. 

"M'fine." He repeats again, patting Jim's hand weakly and only then does Jim settle down into the chair next to him. 

"You're in pain, don't even try hiding that from me." Jim says, determination etched into his voice at the prospect of even attempting to help.

"I'm maxed out on meds for a while." 

Silence falls over the pair, and Jim's thumb strokes Lens wrist In time with the mans laboured breathing, fingers fleeting over the pulse, weak but there. 

"You know how to stop this?" Jim asks quietly, after the man curls his hands into fists, knuckles going white in the attempt to fight a wave of pain. The grip on Jim's own hand is painfully tight, and he grimaces and tries to shake the feeling back into his fingers, his stomach clenching at the agony etched across Len's features. 

He eventually gets a minute shake of the head in response, Len too worn out to verbally reply so he helps push the oxygen mask back over Bones' mouth and nose. The siren's ragged breathing evens out a little after a while, and he drifts into a restless sleep. Jim's own eyes droop dangerously closed, and he distantly remembers that counting each laboured breath -reassuring as it was- probably wasn't the best idea, particularly in his own state of exhaustion.

Before he can force himself to move, he finds himself drifting asleep, bent over the bed at an awkward angle and barely perched on the uncomfortable plastic chair, his head precariously resting on the edge of the mattress and hand still loosely linked with the Siren's.

o0o 

He busies himself with paper work, and God knows there's enough of it. He loves his job, _really_ he does, but the paper work is ridiculous. Not to mention a firearm was discharged, he's been shot and the siren is... ...indisposed, for lack of a better word. 'The paper work is gonna be through the roof', he thinks as he flops back down onto his uncomfortable bed.

He'd been woken by Christine after he'd fallen asleep by Len's bedside. A scowl firmly etched on her face, but he'd seen the hidden amusement behind it. Besides, the ache in his neck and the pain in his abdomen from his still tender wound had delayed her berating for later. 

He'd slept a full night, which is the first in a long time. But he'd woken up feeling restless, like there was an itch just under his skin and he needs to work or run or do _something_ to escape his head for a while. 

He'd thought about asking to help find the antidote at the lab. After all, it is part of what he does, although usually it's helping to cure human diseases and infections through the use of the new species, not the other way around.

Besides, he'd never thought it would get this far, he'd worked with tiny new organisms, lots of animals, even unicorn worshipped by a dozen indigenous tribes, which turned out to be little more than a wild horse with a genetic fault that had resulted in it growing a horn on its forehead. But they'd never been sentient, capable of expressing their feelings through speech or feeling love or joy or anger. 

The siren is capable of feeling all those things and more, and all Jim has done is secured the siren's belief that humans are dangerous, violent and selfish creatures. 

He should go. Leave. Never look back. Maybe the siren will pull through, go back to the ocean with his daughter and stay away from the coastline where it's safe from human civilisation. 

So that's decided. He'll leave. 

He packs up his things into a small duffel bag. Technically speaking he's discharged now anyway. He changes out of his hospital clothes, pulling on his jeans and a t-shirt that doesn't look much cleaner than his discarded hospital garment and leaves the room, adjusting the bag strap that's digging in to his shoulder. 

He gets as far as the exit in the foyer. Just as he's about to pass through the door, he sighs, scrubs his palm over his face once and then turns back, sitting heavily down onto a long bench used as a waiting area. His leg bounces rhythmically as he keeps his palms presses against his face. 

_Goddamn it._

"Are you waiting to see someone?" Comes a quiet question to the left of him. Female. Old. Just bordering on this side of amused, enough to grate on his nerves even more.

He clenches his teeth together behind his hands. He feels like snapping at her, screaming how dare she sound so happy, so guilt free and wonderfully oblivious to the pain he's caused. 

He takes a deal breath and turns his head, just enough to see a woman of small stature, late 70s of age if he were to guess, but by no means fragile looking. Her round face etched with laughter lines and framed by a pair of thick glasses. she gives him a small friendly smile. 

He gives her a minute shake of the head in response. "No..." He says on an exhale. "I was going to leave."

She gives him a surprisingly knowing look. "But you're not going to, are you?" She asks, a twinkle in her eye. When he doesn't reply she continues. "I know that look all too well mister. You're a man at war with himself" 

He turns to face her properly then, noting the small upturn of her thin lips, her silvered thinning hair. She looks like the mother he'd always wished for. Welcoming, comforting but with a no nonsense sort of attitude, something which Winona had always never quite been able to achieve. She'd tried, but every time she'd taken the time to look at him, _really_ look at him he'd reminded her of George, the husband she so dearly missed. 

"I know what it's like." She continues, interrupting him from his thoughts. "When you're worried that you care too much. You think they'll realise you're not good enough or they don't love you like you love them." 

"How did you-" 

"Woman's instincts. She's very lucky to have you. If she doesn't appreciate that she doesn't deserve you dear." 

Jim twitches minutely, stiffening. She notices, much to his utter dismay. 

"He." She corrects herself with a small smile, he gapes at her in surprise. "That would be a _mothers_ instinct dear. Where I come from we don't judge. By the looks of things you've had plenty 'nough of that." 

He nods again, a little lost for words. 

"You should go an' talk to him. You don't know when you'll get to again."

"I can't. He's- they've put him in an induced coma. He can't hear me." _Why are you telling her this Jim?_

Her lips quirk up a little again, this time into a sad, rueful approximation of a smile. " _Boys_ " she sighs. "He can hear you. Clear as day. He jus' can't reply. That's how I like my men anyways." she winks, and he huffs a laugh . 

"I've only known him 3 weeks, if 'known' Is the right word, I barely know a thing about him. I've been too caught up in my job to even ask. And now that he's hurt... I feel like I put him there. And yeah it was sorta my fault. I should leave before I hurt him again but-" 

"But you can't." She finishes for him. 

"Yeah. He's... Intoxicating. Like a...siren." He huffs a laugh, and it's so contradictory to his mood it turns into more slightly hysterical giggles until he's wiping the tears from his eyes. For her part, the woman watches him, a smile still on her face but mainly crowded by concern for him, clearly not getting what the hilarity of the sentence was. 

"When I was perhaps a little older that you," she starts when Jim's laughter is quickly replaced by a frown, she waits until he catches her gaze. "I was in love with a guy, he was absolutely gorgeous. My best friend. I never told him how I felt though. I didn't think I was good enough. That he wouldn't want me. So I just distanced myself away from him. Stopped responding to his messages, made excuses not to go out with him." 

He feels like there's a moral to this story, so he asks: "what happened?" 

"One day he decided to confront me. He was on the way to my house when there was a build up in the motorway. A car crashed into him an' I never got to tell him how I felt. Not even a goodbye." 

"...I'm sorry." 

She waves him off. "You've got a long while ahead of you boy. Don't spend it regretting this, not like I did. Go an' get your... siren." 

After staying silent for a stretch of silence, Jim smiles, his first genuine smile in days, just about leaps from his chair and holds his hand out to the woman in front of him. She shakes it, her grip tight and unyielding. 

"Thank you." 

She shoos him away, and he takes off down the corridor, just catching her call of "good luck!" 

He smiles again, kicking himself for even considering walking away, he'll confront his guilt about that later though. For now he's got a job to do, he's gonna save a siren. 

He comes to a skidding stop outside the corridor to the IC unit where Len's being kept. He almost slams into the wall, but just manages to keep his balance. He jogs up to the large double doors separating him and the ward and pushes them open, revealing Dr. M'Benga and a nurse trying to calm an irate woman down as best they can. The woman has long, red-brown hair that trails down just above her waist in messy damp tangles, she looks around 50, maybe a little older, wrapped in a large towel in a way that looks like she's not wearing much else underneath it. 

He frowns in confusion as he sees her face is soaked with tears. 

"What's wrong? Has something happened?" He asks M'Benga, the panic returning. 

"Please." The woman says, her voice desperate. "They're not letting me see him."

"See who?" Jim asks, and the same time as M'Benga says "Ma'am please try to stay calm." 

"My Leo. They're not letting me see my baby," 

"You're Len's mother?!" 

She nods, more tears staining her flushed face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise?


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Right. I am so sorry about the hiatus. I had exams and then real life got in the way and I had *the* worst mental block ever. However this chapter is a little longer to make up for things.
> 
> I'd just like to say, before anyone with any real medical knowledge reads this, every single thing I've written in this chapter is completely intended to be fictional, though I've tried to be as accurate as I could, and while there some things I was able to research the rest had to be made up by me, someone who has no medical knowledge other than watching House MD. Dammit man I'm a writer not a doctor.

"I'm sorry, we just got him to sleep, he's in a lot of pain right now. Until we can find a cure the only thing we can do is to keep him comfortable and rested."

"But I can-!"

"Ma'am." Geoff hushes. "Please do try to keep your voice down. And until you have some sort of ID we can't let you in, it's hospital policy."

" _I'm a siren_." She hisses to keep her voice down whilst somehow still maintaining the same level of anger. " _If you think we carry ID around in our scales, you need a biology lesson."_

 

They're so caught up in bickering, they almost don't notice the door to Len's room opening, revealing a small girl, her brown hair disheveled and her eyes heavy, swaying on her feet a little. "Gran'ma?" Joanna asks quietly, rubbing her tired eyes. She steps forward, allowing the door to shut with a soft snick, and gazes up at the crazed woman.

" _Joanna_." The woman breathes. " _Look at you._ " She smiles, though her eyes are still filled with unshed tears. She kneels, outstretching her arms to offer a hug. Much to Jim's surprise, Joanna steps away from her and toward Jim, clinging to his pant leg like a lifeline. The woman's hands fall limp to her sides as she takes in a shuddering breath.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees M'Benga gesture to the nurse, hopefully to go and get a spare set of clothes from somewhere, because that towel is getting a little too loose for even Jim's comfort.

Jo tugs again on his trouser leg, and this time he stoops down to pick her up and settles her on his hip. She shifts to make herself comfortable, and then leans her head on his shoulder, seemingly satisfied with the new arrangement.

The woman sniffs, nods and stands herself up, pulling her towel more securely around her (much to Jim's relief.)

"There's spare bedroom down the hall." Geoff says quietly. Jim's eyes flicker to Bones' room and back to the doctors face. "He's still stable. He's not going anywhere right now."

Jim nods, shifts Joanna in his grip more securely and ducks his head as he passes the woman. When they're out of earshot, Joanna mutters: "Daddy was whispering in his sleep."

"Oh yeah?" Jim feigns interest, but he internally grimaces. "What'd he say?"

"He said 'they rose from the oceans, and the people stopped and stared in wonder of their beauty, even as they pulled the knives from their teeth and tails.'" She recites perfectly.

"You sound like you've heard that before. What does it mean?" Jim asks, toeing open the door with his foot to reveal a simple room with a single bed neatly tucked Into the corner

"It's an old siren story. It says that when the sirens walk on land there'll be a big war. Daddy used to tell me it... But mine always had a prince... And a talking crab."

"You can talk to crabs?!"

"No!" Joanna cries unbearably close to his ear. "Don't be silly Mr Jim. No one can speak to crabs... But daddy can speak dolphin... And some whale."

Jim snorts and let's her drop down from his grip. She stares up at him with a blank expression and tilts her head. "You're serious?" Jim gapes. She nods. "You've gotta be sh- kidding me." She shakes her head again, no sign of a teasing smirk behind her expression. "Huh." He says so eloquently.

 

Jo clambers into the bed, struggling to pull the covers up to her chin. Instinctively he goes over to help. She looks slightly tearful, and Jim's guessing it's because Len said // _he'd_ // do this for her when he got back. He smiles as cheerfully as he can muster and lightly lightly her pouting bottom lip with his fingers. It gets her to crack a smile, much to his relief.

"Don't worry. I'm gonna help him get better... Shall I go get your grandma?"

A small hand darts out from under the covers and grips his arm in an attempt to stop him from leaving. She shakes her head vigorously. "No! Gran'ma works for the siren gover'ment. She coulda stopped daddy from gettin' hurt but she didn't."

Jim nods solemnly. _Just as I'd thought._  

"Ok JoJo. I won't, but you need to try and get some sleep, ok?"

She nods again, already smothering a large yawn behind her hand and is practically asleep by the time he's near the door. He watches her for a second, and then sighs and switches of the light, plunging the room into near blackness.

When he turns to face the group he'd left behind, he's relieved to see the woman at least has some clothes on. A pair of ill fitting doctors scrub pants and an undershirt now hang off her thin frame, the near unnatural amount of hair has been tied back into a damp loose ponytail. She somehow manages to make her slumped position on the uncomfortable plastic chair look somewhat elegant, despite the fact those chairs are designed to only sit small elephants comfortably.

He waits awkwardly outside the door to Bones' room, looking to Christine for permission to enter. She nods, mouthing _10 minutes_ at him with a serious expression he can't begin to argue with and turns her attention back to the female siren ("Queen Athena", as he's been referring to her in his head, she reminds him of Ariel's mother in The Little Mermaid, but a little older and more manic looking, he supposes.)

He pushes open the door, ignoring the pained expression Queen Athena gives him (he really / _must_ / find out her name, it's embarrassing. Maybe when he's a little less angry at her he'll ask.) He puts aside any pent up anger and anxiety he has and steps into the room, gaze immediately falling on the hospital bed.

He pulls up a chair, eyes never moving from the broken man on the bed, even as he winces at the screech it gives in protest to being dragged along the floor. The siren is muttering, just a quiet whisper under his breath, the words caught around the tube down his throat making it sound completely foreign to Jim's ears and probably unintelligible even to anyone who speaks siren. His eyes are shut, and aside from the slight movement of his lips he looks asleep, if not peaceful.

The green lines have wound up his neck and curled delicately around one cheek, the tips just beginning to creep around his brow in sinuous lines. _Brain function deteriorating_  Jim notes to himself, his eyes flicking to the chart. _Slightly low white cell count, temperature normal, oxygen levels low, despite the ventilator, so possible onset pneumothorax_. He lets the air rush out of his lungs in a long sigh, his chin resting against his palm as he stares unseeingly at the wall.

He jerks when a hand lands on his shoulder and scowls up at the owner, only really recognising the face staring back at him until they whisper an apology.

"It's getting worse, huh?" Sulu says, keeping his voice low as not to wake Bones. Jim nods pathetically.

"I'm going down to the labs to help find the antidote. I just wanted to-" he trails off, staring at the brunette on the bed. "He doesn't have anyone to stay with him, you know?" He scrubs the back of his neck with his hand.

" _Jim_." Hikaru sighs. "Me and Chekov have been searching for the cure for days. Not to mention a whole research team, and state of the art technology. We haven't found anything that causes... _that_." Sulu tilts his head to the green markings adjourning Bones' skin. "Because we're working from scratch. We have no idea what effects Siren's blood and he doesn't have that much unaffected blood we can use for testing."

I'm takes a moment to process the words, not that he didn't know all of this before, but his brain is working sluggishly, and everything seems a little hazy and distant.

"What are you saying Sulu?" Jim finally manages.

"I'm saying that _maybe_  the poison is made from something from the siren colony... or maybe there just _isn't_  a cure. But we don't have the time or the resources to go through every single substance known to man."

"I'm not giving up on him." Jim snaps, immediately regretting it when Len stirs next to him. The blonde settles a hand through the sirens hair, carding the stray strands away from his face and willing him not to wake up.

"This is more than just guilt or a crush... You genuinely have feelings for him." It comes out more of an accusation than a statement, but Jim's hand pauses it's gentle ministrations, enough to allow him to shrug, and then goes back to combing his fingers through Len's silky hair, watching as the siren relaxes back into a deeper sleep.

"It doesn't matter." Jim mumbles, and Sulu lets out a disbelieving hum in reply, one that clearly means 'you're an idiot, Jim.'

Christine taps gently on the door, interrupting their conversation and Jim takes a moment to admire her really impeccable sense of timing, once again saving him from having to answer awkward questions. He nods determinedly, allows one last guilt ridden glance at the siren before striding out the room, Sulu following close by.

As soon as he steps out Len's mother all but jumps on him, her hands gripping his upper arms almost to the point of pain. "How is he?" She sniffs, an air of desperation in her voice.

Jim shrugs her off, glancing toward the doctors. "I can't tell you how he's doing any better than they can. I'm not his doctor." He replies, his resolve quickly diminishing as he hopelessly tries to hold on to some level of calmness, but it's getting increasingly difficult to try and rein in his anger towards her.

"They're not telling me anything! Please, you've got to let me help!" She says desperately, and it only makes him more annoyed, _if she had stopped him getting hurt, she wouldn't be in this position._  

Jim sighs. "He's being kept stable, but the poison is spreading to his brain. We don't have long to find the antidote, so if you'll excuse me." He's already walking away before she can stop him and he almost gets to the end of the corridor before the woman's shrill call stops him in his track.

"Your medicine won't save him!" She calls, and looks surprisingly calm, like she's in control. He can hear his will-power crumbling. "You think you know everything, you humans. You create weapons for mass destruction; start a war against your own species, yet you still haven't conquered the common cold. How do you expect to save my son if you cant do that? He is dying in there and there's nothing _you_  can do about it ."

It's enough to break his resolve, his fists clenching against his sides as he stalks toward her, quickly crowding her personal space and easily towering above her. She has the decency to look a little scared.

" _Our medicine is the * **only** * thing that's keeping him alive right now. These doctors have been working for days just to keep him stable, let alone find a cure to something * **you** * could've stopped happening. So don't you dare tell me that we aren't doing anything about it, you don't have the right."_ He takes a long needed breath, just as Geoff and Christine's pagers both shriek to life simultaneously.

"He's woken up again." Christine says, and sends him a glare that tells him to tone it down before dashing into Bones' room.

"If you know what's causing this you need to tell me now." Jim growls in a syncopated whisper. The siren is still staring at the doors to Bones' room, her panic clear in her expression. Her gaze flickers back to him.

 

"You've been testing his blood from his human form." She says somewhat desperately. He frowns in confusion. "He was stabbed in his siren form." She tries to clarify, and stares at Jim's still confused face as if he's an idiot. "They aimed for his... Eh" She gestures vaguely at her stomach, stumbling over her words.

"Abdomen?" Jim asks, and she nods in agreement.

"But they missed... Hit his tail instead. It bought him enough time to get away and when he changed into human form it would of slowed down the effects of the poison further. But If you want to cure him you're going to have to risk changing him back."

Jim lets out a short breath. It made sense, but it was risky. Changing him back into siren form would mean the poison would be working in full force. "Do you know what's in it?"

She chews the inside of her cheek before replying. "I've been working for the head of the council, Hyweth, since Leo's father died. He once mentioned the colony had difficulty procuring Northern Water Hemlock without getting caught by the humans. He didn't say why they needed it and we didn't ask questions, but I think we all presumed that's what they were using to get rid of the outcasts." She bites her lip. "Look, I shouldn't be saying anything about this. If they find out I told you-"

"The symptoms fit for Water Hemlock poisoning in humans." Jim interrupts, because this isn't relevant to saving Bones anymore. "except for the green protruding veins, even so, there isn't a cure for hemlock poisoning this advanced. Not to mention hemlock is usually consumed..." Jim frowns and pulls out his cell phone from his backpack. "Unless..."

He decides against running again, because his abdomen is beginning to strain in protest from the running he did earlier. He settles for a fast stride to the labs where Sulu and Chekov are working, almost instantly forgetting Bones' mother.

He taps Sulu's number into his cell, something he's memorised after three years of working with the man, presses the call button and limps somewhat towards the research facility. He could swear it didn't seem the far away the first time he came here.

"Sulu!" He greets over the phone. "How much blood do we have left for testing?"

"Not much." Comes the weary reply. "Enough for one more test. We're about to do it now."

"Wait!" Jim cries, and earns a few glares from passing hospital workers, he grimaces and tries to pick up his pace. "Wait. I'll be there in a minute, hold off on that test."

"Oh...kaayy..." Sulu says with an air of disbelief. He calls something unintelligible to Chekov, and Jim grimaces as the phone crackles with displeasure over the volume of his voice. "What's wrong?.. Did something happen?"

"No! No. Look, I'll be there in a a minute, ok? Just- don't do anything with that sample."

"Whatever you say, captain." Sulu mutters.

He sticks his tongue out at his phone before he realises what he's doing, and sheepishly looks around for anyone who noticed. Deciding his dignity hasn't been /completely/ lost, he ventures down a corridor that looks vaguely familiar.

***

 

The research facility is a thing of beauty, with everything up to date and practically gleaming, under any other circumstances Jim would've been thrilled to be working in a place like this, but even after this short amount of time of knowing the man, he wouldn't of expected anything less than this standard from Bones.

After a long discussion with nurse Chapel, he'd found out Bones set up the facility in tribute to his father. He'd also found out the death of said dad was the reason he'd been banished from the siren colony in the first place, him and his (then) 2 year old daughter had turned up on the doorstep of the hospital almost naked, drenched from head to toe and barely spoke a word of English.

M'benga had been the one to take them in, treated the infant's onset hypothermia and Len's gashed feet, and had swiftly offered to help them out, despite not knowing a thing about them.

Admirable, to say the least.

"Jim, you look like shit." Sulu says bluntly. "Shouldn't you be resting?" Noting the sweat gathered on the blonde's face and his hands clenched at his abdomen.

"I'm ok." Jim replies a little unsteadily, and then blinks as the world tilts around him. "I... might of over done it a bit."

Sulu tuts disapprovingly and drags Jim's sorry ass to a chair near the work bench they're currently taking over, much to the obvious displeasure of the doctors working here.

"Cicuta virosa."

"... Good morning to you too Jim."

Jim fixes him with a partial glare, though it's not quite effective while he can see three of the man all staring back at him. He waves his palm across his face to try and clear his vision. "Water hemlock." Jim clarifies. "Explains most of the symptoms. We take away the symptoms of hemlock poisoning from what he already has, that's nausea, sweating, lethargy and delirium... then we have seizures, respiratory distress and green blood left. Now, what causes those three?"

Sulu stares back at him as if he's gone insane, and almost like he always knew this day was coming. " _Nothing_  causes green blood."

Chekov suddenly appears from behind his large computer, pushing the monitor towards the other two men. "Nyet. Zhere vas one recorded case of blood turning green. Zhe patient vas taking a large amount of medication containing sulphur. It caused a condition called sulfhaemoglobinaemia and made his blood turn green. But it vouldn't cause zhe other symptoms."

"Sirens would be constantly exposed to sulphur though, God knows how much would be running through his system, maybe the sulphur reacted to the painkillers he's on." Sulu suggests.

Jim shakes his head. "No, he was showing the symptoms before he was brought to the hospital."

"Sooo?"

"So, what if the sulphur reacted with the hemlock?"

"What? No. That wouldn't cause anything except a slightly more potent poison."

The sound of Chekov tapping at the keys on the keyboard means his theory is either about to be confirmed or denied. It takes agonisingly long moments before the Russian speaks. "Zhere has been no research on the effects of sulphur and hemlock together. But..." He trails off, apparently still searching for something. "Vater hemlock grows only in natural lakes, springs. Places where zhere vould be little exposure to sulphur."

"Do we have any samples of water hemlock to test with?"

"I'd be surprised if we didn't. This place has more samples that star fleet does." Sulu replies.

Jim raises his eyebrow, because while this lab is a researchers dream come true, it isn't _that_  big.

"There's a storage facility downstairs." Sulu clarifies, and then studies Jim. "I'll go and collect the samples."

"I'll come with" Jim states, grunting slightly as he pushes himself out of his chair. He's not passing up any chance to see some secret underground storage depot.

" _You_  shouldn't be out of your hospital bed. Let alone getting yourself all excited over some glorified bunker of a research lab."

One petulant, completely childish pout makes Sulu sigh in defeat, and puts an annoyingly smug, contented cat-like face on Jim.

"Fine. But I'm not peeling you off the floor if you collapse from exhaustion."

Jim nods, following Sulu to an elevator conveniently located just outside of the lab, watching as the other man pulls out a security card and swipes it down a slot next to the button panel. The elevator jolts to life and automatically starts to descend. _When did my life become a cheesy action movie?!_

"Hey!" Jim whines. "How come _you_  get the super spy 'all access' pass?"

"Probably because they were getting bored of us complaining about the stairs every time we came down to get a sample to test. " Karu says wearily. "Seriously, the administrator down here is a bit of a dick."

Jim hums in response, but he takes Sulu's word for it, the man is a good judge of character.

"Marcus is planning on making a statement to the news." Sulu says, after a long stretch of internally debating what to tell Jim. "He's going to the press in matter of days."

"With what? He turns up with a story about mermen walking among us, the only place it'll get printed is some phoney conspiracy website."

"I wouldn't be so sure. Uhura said he's claiming he has evidence... And blood samples. He's not going down without a fight."

Jim whistles. "Well, soon as we get Bones up and running we can deal with Marcus."

"Bones?"

"Leo. McCoy. Whatever. He has a tattoo on his wrist of bones. I kinda forgot about it. Well, _I_  kissed _him_ and then he _made_  me forget about it and then when I got shot I remembered." Jim rambles, wondering when exactly he procured such a big mouth. Thankfully, the elevator doors open before he can say anything else.

The knowing smirk Sulu gives in response follows him right out of the lift.

o0o

Sulu is right, the administrator at the storage facility _is_  a dick. All leering looks and lewd remarks that make Jim's skin crawl. Still, the place is impressive and they got the samples they needed. Now all that's left is the anxious wait for the samples to react together with their last sample of the siren's blood.

He can honestly say it's the most tense moment of his life.

"The sulphur is killing off the water hemlock." Jim confirms in a breath, looking up from his microscope. "It's also damaging the red blood cells. It accounts for the seizures and respiratory distress." He turns to face the others, a smile blooming across his face. "We can treat this."

 

o0o

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok right, I kinda hate this chapter and I'm very glad it's over. It gets better from here. And I'm gonna try my hardest to get a new chapter out ASAP. Thanks for everyone who's battled through the angst and the Hiatus, I promise there's fluff and sunshine still to come. (Also, there may be mistakes in here, I haven't had time to read through this, but please let me know if there are) 
> 
> Ok, right. A few notes.
> 
> As far as I'm aware, if you mix sulphur and water hemlock nothing will happen, idk. If you happen to have a research facility you should test that and get back to me on it. The only truth about this is that water hemlock doesn't grow where there is large exposure to sulphur. 
> 
> Second, sulfhaemoglobinemia is an actual condition that turns your blood green due to overdosing on medications containing sulphur. 
> 
> 3rd, all symptoms mentioned are actual symptoms of water hemlock poisoning, however as for the next chapter the same thing can't be said about the treatment of hemlock poisoning. 
> 
> 4th, all inaccuracies taken into account, this *is* in fact a story about a mermaid. And therefor all incorrect medical knowledge is null. XD 
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you once again McCheKirKhan. I'm am very grateful for you putting up with me, blah blah blah. XD


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Again, I apologise for the wait. I think about this fic a lot, but as soon as I grab my iPad and start typing I get this giant mental block, but I've included extra fluff in here for you. Like seriously, bordering on the sickly amount. 
> 
> On another note, I actually kinda like this chapter! So whoop!

_Breathe._

_In........_

_You've done it your entire life. Now is not a good time to suddenly stop._

_Out._

_In._

_Good. Now repeat. See? You're almost an expert already_.

His eyes flicker open, but everything is to blurred, like he's looking up through...

 _Water_. 

His eyes startle open, staring back at in panic at the blurred figures looming over him as he takes in a large breath of water, and decidedly not through his gills. His hands clutch at what he can only presume are the edges of some kind of tub or tank as his tail thrashes against the sides.

 _What're you doing? Breathe, Leo._  

Now that the initial adrenaline rush of panic has gone, he takes a moment to really examine what little he can see of his surroundings. Three figures standing above him, too tentatively to be captors. The tub is full length, deep enough for him to be fully submerged but not by far. There are straps holding his waist and chest down to the bottom, and he can tell no amount of thrashing against them will loosen his bonds.

His hands we still white-knuckling the sides of the tub, his grip becoming even tighter as the agony begins to register, initially dulled by the overwhelming sense of panic but now in full force, feeling almost like his blood is boiling. He grits his teeth, (considerably larger in size and sharper in his siren form) and jerks against the restraints, his chest arching upwards as much as it can.

A hand settles on one of his, a gesture meant to be comforting under any other circumstances, but the extra heat and pressure added to the unbearable amount currently pulsing around his body makes him howl in pain, and although muffled somewhat by the water, he knows the people standing above him can hear it just the same.

The hand jerks back, and the man attached to it is gently led away by what he can tell is a woman, although her face is too blurred to be recognisable.

"He's not going to remember." She keeps repeating quietly. although he can tell it's not so much directed at him but about him. It gives him an unexplainable sense of comfort, and an underlying voice tells him that he's not entirely rational, but he takes solace in the knowledge that _someone_  out there is looking out for him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He wakes up groggily, his eyes blinking open even as the rest of his body doesn't seem to be able to move. He watches hazily as light dances across his vision, the fuzzy image starting to clear a little and causes him to wince as it strengthens the throbbing pain at the back of his head. His body is an odd combination of both really cold and really hot, he notes as he tries to shift into a more comfortable position. Difficult, given he can barely move.

Above him Jim is hovering, just inches from his face with a searching gaze, his eyes flickering over Len's own.  
"Hello." Bones croaks, and a smile plays over Jim's face as he gestures to a cup of water on the side table.

"Need a hand sitting up?" Jim asks, noting the Siren's failed attempts to do it himself. Bones nods, rasping out a 'please' and the blonde gladly moves to help, slipping behind the brunette on the bed so that he rests against Jim's side. He leans over, plucking the cup from where it sits on the table and presses it to Bone's lips.

"Sip." He orders, and he can almost _feel_  the eye roll. "You're not gonna have much energy for a while I'm afraid. And M'Benga's warned me you need to stay put. No running off being all heroic again, got me?" He gets a nod of confirmation, the soft strands on Len's hair brushing against the side of Jim's chin. "You'll be back to your usual cheery self in no time."

"And what about you? What're you gonna do?" The siren asks, his voice considerably clearer but definitely not making eye contact.

Jim stays silent for a minute, considering. "I'll... Go back to Starfleet, I guess. Try and get Marcus off the streets so he doesn't bother you or Joanna. Then... I don't know. Keep doing what I do best." The siren shifts uncomfortably, and Jim tenses like he's about to stand up. "I should go get M'Benga, tell him you're awake."

"Stay." The siren says, sluggishly moving his hand to Jim's knee. "Please." He adds, leaning back against Jim's shoulder with his eyes slipping shut. Jim nods hesitantly, the tentative movement felt rather than seen almost like he's not quite sure what he's agreeing to.

Jim takes the now half empty cup out of Len's lax grip and places it back on the nightstand, shifting so that Bones is laying between his outstretched legs, his head leaning against Jim's shoulder and strong arms wrapped around his torso. Still, he fails to hide the wince as his injured leg gets jostled in the process. Jim's arms move away, and he mourns the loss of warmth and comfort.

"Am I hurting you?" Jim asks quickly and Len shakes his head again.

"No. S'not you." He mutters, shifting his leg to a more comfortable position. Jim seems to understand as he relaxes slightly, his arms tentatively go back to wrap around Len.

"Your leg is still infected, the antidote is just taking a bit longer to work. You should be fine in a couple of days." Leo nods, and Jim's just able to see the other man fighting to keep his eyes open. "Get some rest. You have some visitors who want to see you later, believe me you'll need the energy." Jim mutters more to himself than to Len, but the siren is already mostly asleep anyway.

He smiles softly against the fuzz of Len's hair, thinking that while he's being used as a human pillow, he might as well get some rest, and succumbs to the warmth and comfort.

o0o

 

"WHAT IN HELL'S NAME IS SHE DOING HERE?!"

Jim bolts upright from the bed, quickly orientating himself and blinking at how abruptly he was woken. Bones stands next to the bed wearing pyjamas that M'Benga brought him once he'd started recovering from the effects of the poison, his face looking absolutely murderous and just a little bit frightened.

Across the room Christine stands somewhat awkwardly at the door, wearing an apologetic look on her face. _Why would Bones be mad at Christine?_

  
"I'm sorry Leonard. She insisted."

Jim blinks sluggishly again, and now that he's really looking he can just the side of Bones' mother standing before the entrance to the room, her expression blocked from view by the doorframe.

"Of all the asinine-" Bones starts, and then wobbles, and Jim is just able to make out his muscles quivering under the strain of standing up. Christine makes a dash to stop him from falling over, but Jim gets there quicker, looping Bones' arm over his shoulders and wrapping his own around Bones' waist to keep him from toppling.

Bones makes a small despairing noise at the back of his throat, only loud enough for Jim to hear but heart wrenching all the same, and Jim starts rubbing soothing circles into Bones' hip with his thumb.

Jim gives Christine a minute shake of the head, and she seems to get the message, as she goes to shut the door to Len's room, not before politely dismissing Eleanora. (Jim had eventually found out her name after she'd helped with curing Bones) Jim helps him walk towards the bed, so that they're perched in the end, Jim still rubbing broad circles across Leonard's back.

"I'm sorry, Leonard, but I really should check up on your leg." Christine says, and Len replies with a stiff nod, leaning over to roll up his pant leg to reveal a bandage clad thigh. and Jim's glad to note that the injury is a lot less angry looking than it had been a day ago, and the remaining silvery green lines have reduced in size considerably.

Christine nods in approval, not that Bones sees, as he's busy trying to burn a hole in the wall with his eyes, but she finishes re-applying the dressing to his leg and leaves, leaving the two men in a fairly uncomfortable silence.

"I'm sorry, Bones." Jim says after a minute or 5.

"Not your fault." Bones replies, somewhat gruffly but sincerely.

"I should've sent her away the moment I knew who she was-"

That makes Bones stiffen. "You knew about this?!"

" _But,_ " Jim continues, like he wan't interrupted. "She gave us the ingredients for the poison so we could make the antidote. Without her-" Jim breaks off, chewing his lip as his thoughts stray about 'what ifs'

Bones thumb presses against his mouth, easing his lip away from the sharp sting of his teeth, but his hand lingers against Jim's cheek, thumb still gently tracing the outline of Jim's bottom lip. Jim looks up at him in surprise, noting the tense lines across Bones' face seem to have melted away, replaced by a reverence Jim's only used on the stars before as he follows the idle movement of his thumb.

Bones' gaze shifts upwards, meeting Jim's own and he realises that neither of them are actually _breathing_ , just staring at each other and have been doing for an unmitigated amount of time,and all of a sudden there's an all encompassing _need_  to get Bones closer and get his lips against his own.

Thankfully, Bones makes the decision for him, head moving the short distance between them until they're barely an inch apart, and Jim takes that as all the encouragement he needs, head tilted and mouth parted slightly, he meets Bones the rest of the way, canting his lips over the brunettes in a gentle kiss, but in no way lacking in passion.

That is, until a gentle knock at the door startles them apart, and Jim nearly weeps at the universes timing, because his whole body is thrumming with excitement and relief and something that strangely feels like coming home, and that was only after the briefest press of Bones' lips to his.  
He makes a small frustrated noise that Bones laughs at, knocking their foreheads together and whispering a 'later' into his ear, before patting Jim's leg reassuringly. Jim flops back into the bed, staring up at the ceiling in frustration whilst Bones calls the person in.

"Daddy!" Joanna shrieks, bounding up to the man, who makes an ' _oomph!_  noise as she clambers into his lap, all elbows and knees.

"Careful, sweetheart." Bones wheezes as he gets a particularly hard jab to the thigh, looking like he was about to vomit for a moment there. "I'm not quite recovered yet."

Joanna nods sullenly, and lets him shift her into a position that doesn't feel like she's stabbing his leg with a screwdriver. "Miss Chapel said you might need cheering up."

"Oh yeah?" Bones says, tucking a lock of Joanna's hair behind her ear while she begins to ramble about everything she's been up to this past month or so. Jim stands to give them some time alone, only to be pulled back down onto the bed by his shirt, leaving him sprawled out against the mattress while Bones' kid starts on yet another topic of conversation.

o0o

"I may throw up on you." Bones declares after Joanna leaves, he has a smile on his face though, even if he / _sounds_ / sincere.

"Yeah, you look like you're gonna pass out on me, too. Get some rest, before you keel over, old man." Jim teases, already pulling the covers over them both.

"Don't you have anything you need to be doing? Y'know, other than insulting an invalid." Leo asks, but he's shifting so that he's on his side facing the blonde, one hand resting on Jim's hip, an unconsciously possessive gesture that Jim's heart flutters at.

"Nothing that can't wait." Jim replies, and that's not entirely true, he still has a mountain of paper work to do, but he wouldn't move for the world right now.

Bones' finely tuned bull shit detector seems to pick up on it, because he hums out a disbelieving "m'kay" but instead of commenting further, presses his lips to Jim's in a chaste kiss that the blonde melts into like butter.

"I wish we'd of done this earlier." Jim says sorrowfully. "I wish we hadn't have met under those circumstances. I wish you didn't get hur-" Bones silences him with another kiss, pulling the man towards him so they're pressed chest to chest, legs tangled under the covers.

"You _saved_  me. I don't care how we met, I'm just glad we did." Bones mutters, a small smile playing over his face, Jim shuffles down the bed slightly, his head tucked into the crook of Bones, neck.

"Bones?" Jim asks, the words mumbled into said mans collar bone. He gets a hum in reply. "Just answer me one thing... This, isn't some sort of... Captor bond, or misguided hero worship, is it?"

Bones pulls back, just enough to see Jim's eyes, or would, if they weren't pressed closed.

"No! God, no. Jim." The siren protests, and tilts Jim's chin up so the man has to choice but to look at him, he sees the disbelief etched across those sky blue eyes, all the hurt and pain that he's kept with him for so long, and Bones' makes a silent vow to make it better "When I first saw you, I knew you were different, I saw a man who's passion and curiosity about the world is apparent to anyone who sees him. Someone who's brave and loyal and caring in a way that not many people are, who's had his own past and bad experiences and is all the more determined because of it. I saw a man who could stand up for himself, even in the face of his superiors if he believed in what was right. And yeah, maybe you made a few bad choices along the way, but what matters is that you stood up for me when it mattered the most, and if it weren't for your bravery I wouldn't have been able to have that hour long, rather one sided conversation with my daughter just now. So no, this isn't because you captured me, or even that you saved me, it's because I'm helplessly, irrevocably drawn to you."

Jim stares at him in shock, but there's nothing to even suggest anything but certainty in those swirling hazel eyes. He tries to reply, really he does, but the words are caught at the base of his throat and he's not entirely sure that he wouldn't start crying if he did reply anyway.

Sensing Jim's trouble, Bones smiles, running a thumb over the blush on Jim's cheek. "This." He starts, then presses a fleeting kiss to Jim's lips. "Can be anything you want it to be."

The words finally get dislodged and Jim makes a noise that sounds a tiny bit like a whimper. "So if I asked you out on a date, you'd say yes?"

Bones laughs, clearly surprised. "'Course."

Jim's answering smile is blinding, and Bones can still feel it when it's pressed against his collar bone when Jim tucks his head under Bones' chin again.

"Will you do me one thing?" Jim mumbles cautiously into the warm skin in front of him.

"Yeah Jim."

"Would you talk to your mother? I'm not saying you have to play happy families, or even get on afterwards, but if you could just hear her out? If you still can't stand her afterwards I won't ever push it again, I promise."

There's a few seconds silence, and Bones lets out a breath. "Ok. I'll listen to what she has to say. In the morning."

"Thank you." Jim says sincerely, kissing the closest patch of skin showing and closing his eyes, content to fall asleep pressed as close as possible to this impossibly perfect and perfectly impossible man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What'd y'all think on Bones' confession? Turns out I'm a bit of a sap, who'd of thought. 
> 
> Ok, onwards. I'll give you a hint (spoiler) for the next chapter, we're gonna see a reappearance of a certain fly in the ointment. 
> 
> See? I have _thought_ about it.
> 
> Beta' by my own personal fly in the ointment, McChekirkhan, so y'know. My crappy writing is completely her fault. (I joke. I have no one to blame but myself. Love you, 7 XD )
> 
> (Ok, my beta just had to beta her own name, and if that wasn't a clue that my work needed checking through, I don't know what was.)


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A small completely useless and cheesy chapter for you, but I do apologise for the hiatus once again, I don't know what's wrong with me. I do. It's called education and it's ruining my fanfiction life. 
> 
> small summary of the last chapter since its been such a long time:
> 
> Len is recovering from the poison because Jim managed to make an antidote somehow, (author magic and technical know-how... No.) 
> 
> The boys had a chat about their feelings. Well. No. But they're boys, so what'd'ya expect? 
> 
> Marcus is threatening to do some bad things involving the news and shit. 
> 
> And uh. Oh yeah. Bones promised to talk to his mother. Yuk. 
> 
> Exciting stuff. Enjoy.

The next morning finds Jim sitting in a small cafe with Gaila for breakfast, after being politely kicked out of Bones' room by Christine. Bones, as promised, is talking to his mother, and Jim wouldn't want to be anywhere in the near vicinity for _that_  particular conversation anyway, but he does regret not being able to continue their own discussion from the night before, and the disappointment must be written all over his face, because Gaila has been watching him pick at his food for the last three minutes.

It seems she finally has had enough, as a large dollop of cream from her ridiculously over sugared waffles hits him in the face and slides onto the table with a small 'splat'. He glares at her, though the effect is somewhat nulled by the fact he has white blobs stuck to his eyelashes and trailing over the right side of his face.

"Jimmy, I came here to talk, you know, that thing that friends do? It's quite hard to achieve with just one person."

"Never stopped you before, G" Jim says, and though his voice gives no indication of teasing, a smirk starts to tug at his lips at the sight of Gaila's outraged expression, grabbing a napkin to wipe the mess off his face and ignoring the pointed looks from some of the other customers in the shop.

A deep sigh escapes Gaila's lips as she stabs her food before popping the last sugar coated waffle bite into her mouth. "So then," Gaila starts as she brushes off the sugar granules with the back of her hand. "Talk to me. Let's get the story out there before Marcus does, hm?"

She's taken it upon herself to pull out a pen and a notepad from her bag and a pair of thick framed glasses perch on the bridge of her nose, looking every bit like the journalist she's supposed to be. He splutters, almost choking on his orange juice.

"Wait, since when do you wear-?" Jim questions as he waves vaguely at his face.

Gaila glares at him through her purple spectacles. "Since contacts got too tedious to put in every day. Come on, Jimmy, I don't have all day."

 

He hums thoughtfully, shoving a piece of toast into his mouth. "You know, everything I say now is completely confidential until I say otherwise? And I want him to read through it before it gets published."

She gives him a look consisting of 60% annoyance and 40% hurt. "You really think I would do that?" He has the decency to look ashamed, so she sighs. "It's been a long couple of months for you, so I'll let that one go. But if you ever doubt me again, Jim Kirk, you'll find a very unflattering article about you in the papers, got it?"

"Sorry" mumbles sincerely, crumbs flying out of his mouth as he talks, landing directly on Gaila's notepad. Her face scrunches up comically.

"That's bloody disgusting! If you do that on your first date with him you'll never make it to second."

"I'm perfectly capable of of being all gentlemanly and charming when I want to be, thank you. I just save my best side for you." He flutters his eye lashes teasingly at her, causing her to snort in amusement before leaning back in her seat.

"Okay, so you've known him, what? 2 months?" She asks, already picking up her pen to note things down with.

"1 and a half." Jim mumbles, looking up to meet what he expects to be Gaila's most judging expression, but she continues to scribble in her notebook secretively, apparently not phased by that revelation, and so begins the arduous account of everything that happened over the past 7 weeks, with the exception of the details of his and Bones'... Relationship? Can he call it that without ever being on a date or even really discussing it with the man first?

Gaila occasionally butts in with a few questions or comments, but otherwise stays distracted by the continuous scratching of her pen against paper.

When he's done she stays silent, after a few more pen marks she looks up and nods in a final acknowledgement. "What have you even been writing in there?" Jim asks as he reaches over the table for the notebook still securely gripped in Gaila's clasp and held just out of eyesight.

He fails to grab it, looking up at her with those big pleading eyes his mother always used to say could charm a-

"Give me a couple of days." Gaila starts, pointedly ignoring Jim because she's immune to any puppy eyed expression he can throw at her. "I'll send you a copy when I'm done and you can go over it with your siren." She stands, picking up her bag from the floor and patting him on the head as she leaves.

She's already near the exit when he notices the small black leather notepad still sitting on the table, laying open but facedown against the table cloth. He reaches over to snag it.

"Wait! You forgot your-" He trails off, eyes lingering on the page that was left open and thumping his head down against the table in dismay.

' _I recorded the conversation on my phone anyway. You're welcome. XX'_  Is scrawled out over the top page, followed by what is a completely graphic and inappropriate drawing of what Jim would look like placed somewhere between Bones' long legs. Strategically shaded, of course.

"Dammit Gaila."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Jim pokes his head around the door, noting that Len is still indeed awake, and so taps a soft knock against the wood, not wanting to startle the siren.

Len peers up at him over the book he's reading, a smile flickering over his face before placing the somewhat battered looking paperback on the side table. "Come on in, Jim."

"How're you feeling?" Jim asks, pushing the door closed behind him and crossing the short distance to the bed, perching on the end as not to squash any limbs.

"Sore, tired... Better." The brunette says with a sigh. "Geoff says I should be up an' about in a couple of days."

"Good." Jim replies, rubbing circles into the man's sheet covered ankle with his thumb. "How'd it go with your mom?"

"It was... Alright, actually. We're nowhere near ok, but we're gonna try, for Joanna, if nothing else. The last few years have been hard on her, I think it would be good for her to have her gran in her life." Jim nods, pleased he could of been of some help. Bones reaches stretches his arm toward Jim's hand, the distance making it difficult to reach so Jim shuffles over to close the distance, fingers tangling with the sirens. "Thank you, for everything, by the way." Jim looks like he's about to interrupt, so Len quickly continues. "For stickin' by me... And for looking after Joanna while I was away. Chris told me what a great job you did of looking after her, it couldn't of been easy for you."

He's about to argue that it was nothing, but the look on Bones' face tells him that's probably not the best idea. "She's a great kid."

Bones smiles. "Yeah, she is."

A comfortable silence falls over the pair, and Jim senses this is as good a time as any.

"Marcus is planning to make a statement to the press." Jim says, internally grimacing when Bones' grip on his hand disappears. "I've got it sorted. Gaila, my friend is a journalist. She's gonna set the story straight before he gets the chance to." He leans over taking Bones' hand in his again, who in turn slumps against his mountain of pillows.

"Yeah, I met her briefly before, she seemed nice. But Jim, are you absolutely sure-"

"I'd trust her with my life." Jim says quickly. "But yeah, I know. She's going to send a copy of the article for you to look through before it gets published anywhere. If there's anything you're not happy with then it'll be changed, but this is our best way of getting on top of this before it begins."

Bones nods again, tugging on Jim's arm in a gesture to get the man to lay down with him. He does, gingerly as not to hurt Bones, laying on his side with his head propped up with one hand, the other resting on Bones' chest just over the thrum of his heart beat.

"Once the news gets out there's gonna be reporters all over this place. I'd suggest getting out for a while, if you have anywhere to go. Or.." Jim starts with a small smile, a sense of nervousness surrounding him that he's never really felt before.

"Or?"

"Or you can come with me to my stepdad's place. Villa, private beach, secluded. Just me, you and Joanna for a few weeks, if you're ok with that?"

That puts a smile on Bones' face "Sounds perfect, Jim."

"Good. I wasn't gonna let you refuse anyway. I'll make sure the flights are booked tonight." He hears the faint spike on the heart rate monitor before he registers Bones' reaction, but the man has gone a slightly more ashen colour than he was before and that crazed look in his eyes is back. "What's wrong?" Jim asks quickly, possibilities running through his head, like a relapse of the antidote and a thousand other things-

"Calm down would you, it's nothing." Bones grouches, his voice dropping to a mumble. "Iveneverbeenonaplanebefore."

A laugh bubbles from Jim's lips before he can stop it. "You've what?"

Bones huffs a sigh. "I said, I've never been on a plane before. Never really needed to. Don't like the idea of being so... High up." He shuts his eyes as if to block out the mere thought, the melodramatic little shit.

"They're perfectly safe."

"Don't pander to me, kid. One tiny crack in the hull and our blood would boil in thirteen seconds."

"Gosh, talk dirty to me."

One hazel/emerald eye peers up at him incredulously. "... That doesn't even make sense."

"You don't make sense." Jim replies back, not his greatest comeback but he can make it work. He pushes himself up further, looming over Bones and waits until the other eye opens to meet his own. "Seriously Bones, how do you even exist?" Jim says quietly, tracing the edge of one cheekbone with his finger.

Bones sighs. "Now I thought you'd of had this talk by now, but when a mummy and daddy who love each other very much-"

Jim snorts. "Asshole. I meant you. In general. Crazy, kick ass, hot as hell, siren/doctor who's afraid of flying. Who'd of thought."

Bones huffs again. "Space is disease and danger wrapped up in darkness and silence."

"How about if I held your hand through the journey."

Bones peers up at him again, a curious expression crossing his face. "Depends."

"On?"

Jim smirks as Bones leans in closer to him, closing the gap between them, dropping his voice to an indecent molasses like drawl. "Whether I can take Valium before the flight."

Jim's mock outraged expression is entirely worth it as he laughs and pecks the man on the lips, settling back against his tower of pillows with Jim's head resting on his collarbone.

Some things are worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go. Like a unicorn vomited the gay over my paper. 
> 
> This chapter was amusing to me, I do hope you enjoyed it, although my sense of humour is, well, questionable at times. 
> 
> I think, one chapter more to go? Although I said that about three chapters ago, so, yknow. Ignore me. 
> 
> Thanks McChekirkhan again, for kicking me up the ass when my mental block just got too much.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's currently.... 20 past 1 in the morning here in the UK, I have just finished this monster of a fic and am very very tired. However, I felt bad about not posting in ages, so I decided to post in in my sleep deprived stupor without reading through it first, so go easy on me, if there's any editing to be done I'll do it ASAP. 
> 
> Ok peoples this is it, the final chapter. I hope it is worth the wait. Your comments mean the world to me, so don't forget to do that. Ok. Well. Here it goes.

"Hey, you ready to go?"

Bones glances up at him from buttoning his shirt. "'bout as ready as i'll ever be." He mutters, looking somewhat forlorn.

Jim walks over to the bed, crouching to his eye level and running a hand down his uninjured thigh. "We don't have to do this, y'know. We could find a way around it."

Bones sighs "Kid, you know for a fact there's no way around this. They've been camped out there for days." ' _They_ ' being the press, who, since the article was published about him, have been waiting patiently just outside the hospital grounds for almost three days. They had hoped they'd have more time before the papers worked out which hospital it was so they could make a quick getaway, no such luck.

Jim pouts in return. "I don't believe in no win scenarios."

He smiles a little at that, taking the offer of Jim's hands to help him to his feet. Whether or not it as a coincidence that it brings them face to face within inches of each other is entirely debatable. Well, that is until a smirk spreads across Jim's face and his hands grip the brunet's waist, the scheming little shit.

"I'll deal with it." Bones relinquishes, kissing Jim with a passion that neither were particularly expecting but the blonde melts into like butter. "Besides," Bones continues, the movement of his mouth catching against Jim's lips. "I could do with a holiday. If I have to stay in this room another day I may go insane." He pulls back, noting that Jim's eyes are half lidded and looking thoroughly dazed. Bones snorts, patting Jim's flank reassuringly and noting that they're probably gonna have to work on the whole siren pheromone thing if Jim's going to be wandering around like a zombie every time they kiss.

"Pass me my crutches, would you?" Bones asks, scowling at said items from across the room, because his arm pits ache like hell and his ass is still bruised from when he fell over and Jim had laughed for an unprecedented amount of time before finally helping him off the floor.

They say their goodbyes, even to Joanna, who's meeting them at the airport in a couple of days to keep her out of the media storm. Their bags have already been loaded into Sulu's van so all that's left is to make the arduous journey through the hospital and out into the swarm of the press.

They make it as far as the reception before Bones comes to an unceremonious stop, almost causing Sulu and Christine to walk directly into him, as they'd been following in tow. His breath is coming in short shallow wheezes and looking for every second like he's going to have a panic attack. Jim pulls him towards a support wall, shielding them from onlookers while the crutches clatter uselessly to the floor.

"Bones." Jim says, pulling the man's hands away from his face and clutching them with his own to focus his attention. "Breathe with me." Jim takes in several drawn out breaths, well aware of the dangers of Bones' heart rate increasing too much while he's still recovering, it could set him back days. "You're going to be ok. We'll-"

"I can't do this." Bones gasps, breath quickening again.

"Shh, it's ok, you're doing great, just breathe." Jim encourages, taking more deep breaths to coax Bones to do the same. He does, eventually begin to calm, sagging into Jim while the man whispers encouragements mixed with praise into his ear.

"Shit, I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. We shouldn't of pushed you into this so quickly. We can do this another day, I'll find a way around it."

Bones shakes his head, his throat dry and heart racing. He takes the bottle of water Christine passes him discretely, sipping it quietly until his mouth feels less like sandpaper.

"I'd rather get this over with, it's going to happen eventually. I just- this is my life. They're gonna know every single little thing about it, and now a face to the name. It's... A lot." Bones sighs, running a hand through his hair.

"This will die down." Jim reassures, squeezing Bones' shoulders. "Just give it time. The hard bit was getting the article published, now we just run away for a while and deal with it after we've had time to think it through."

"I know. It just feels a lot more real now."

Jim is about to reply, until he's deftly interrupted by the unmistakeable voice of Spock from behind him. He turns, surprised, to face him, what's more surprising is that Uhura is following closely behind him, trailed by two security guards.

"You are now an ambassador for your species, doctor McCoy, despite the unfortunate circumstances that led you here, it is an unavoidable matter. I believe that if you speak truthfully and give both of our species time, we will come to an acceptance." Spock states, by way of greeting.

"What're you doing here?" Jim asks, because he's still a little pissed at him.

Spock shifts uncomfortably. "I wished to offer my services in any way I can...by way of apology."

Jim turns to Bones, who in turn gives a short nod, picking up his crutches from the floor and setting his jaw determinedly.

Jim grins. "Let's punch it."

 

***

 

As soon as they step over the threshold of the hospital there's around a 3 second pause before about 30 bulbs flash at them unanimously, questions being thrown at them by clamouring journalists making a large cacophony of noise. Jim steers him towards their getaway van, both making sure to keep their heads low and their pace as fast as possible. That is, until Spock starts talking over the crowd, which suddenly goes eerily quiet.

"Doctor McCoy is recovering from the effects of a poison, caused by the actions of an admiral Marcus, who had planned on using his unique physiology for experimentation. Whilst you have questions, I urge you to let the doctor recuperate in privacy before making allegations towards his species, he has done remarkable work in the medicine field and he and his clan harbour no malicious intent towards us, despite what we have put him through. It is assured you can dismiss any rumours or fairy tales you may of heard about the siren species before this event. They are our ancestors and should be treated as such."

Both Bones and Jim share equal looks of surprise, Jim mouthing a 'thank you' and Bones nodding in stunned gratitude. Spock inclines his head, turning back to the press to answer further questions whilst the pair clamber into Sulu's van. The two grin at each other, fingers tangling easily and relaxing back into the seats more the further away they get.

"Get a room, you two!"

 

***

 

"Holy shit. _This_  is your stepdad's place?"

"Well, adoptive fathers, really... Pike runs the research facility where I work. This is just his holiday home I-" he pauses his sentence, smiling bemusedly at Bones who's trailing his fingers over the whitewashed exterior of the villa, looking amazed and just a little bit intimidated.

"Holiday home? So... no one lives here?"

It's little moments like these that remind Jim that Bones _isn't_  human, when he just looks so incredibly confused by the human race and it both scares and enthrals Jim at the same time. "No, well there's a housekeeper who visits every week or so... "

Bones looks generally lost over the whole concept, and Jim doesn't have a good answer, he shrugs in reply to Bones' unspoken question, gesturing to the flower pot by the doorway.

"Key should be under there."

 

Once they're in the house, however, Bones' concerns seem to dissipate quite quickly, because he seems to be taking in everything with fascination. He'd told Jim on the plane he'd never left the general area of the hospital before, never really needed to, and Jim had just presumed he was being over dramatic, but seeing his expression as he watched the land disappear through the clouds (despite continually complaining about health and safety all the way, even some of the fellow passengers had looked a bit green when they got off the plane) it had been apparent Bones hadn't been exaggerating when he'd said that.

*

Jim shows him around the entirety of the house, even out to the swimming pool, which Bones makes a face at because swimming in chlorinated water is apparently a crime against nature, before finally coming to a stop outside the master bedroom.

"I think you'll like this one." Jim says with a smile, which grows bigger as Bones eyes him curiously before stepping in to the room.

He glances around curiosity, eying the double bed that Jim knows for a fact is heaven to sleep in before noticing the rather splendid view overlooking the beach and out to sea, to which he stares at, stepping closer to the huge windows to get a better look.

Jim lets him soak it in for a moment before wrapping his arms around the man from behind, chin resting on a broad shoulder comfortably.

"Do you miss it?"

Bones seems to know what he means, as he lets out a small hum. "Sometimes. It's where I grew up, and Joanna, but it's..."

"It's what?"

Bones turns in his hold then, back pressed against the glass as he stares off somewhere over Jim's shoulder. "Not home anymore."

Jim runs his hands down the brunet's arms, unable to reply verbally. "This is your room, if that's okay with you?" He says instead, and it feels like an entirely inadequate response.

Bones rubs a hand across the back of his neck nervously. "You're not-" At Jim's confused expression he continues with a sigh. "-Staying with me.. Never mind, it doesn't matter."

"I'll be ok, there's another room right next door, I didn't want to presume-"

"Jim." Bones interrupts, staring back at him with an unreadable expression. "You're an idiot."

Jim's about to protest, but Bones interrupts him with those stupidly distracting lips slanting over his own and Jim smiles between kisses, because he really wasn't looking forward to sleeping alone after all this time, not sure he _could_  anymore. "Your bed is a lot more comfortable than mine anyway." He admits in a breath, hooking his elbow around Bones' neck and locking his lips against the siren's in an exploration of each other's mouths whilst walking them backwards towards said bed.

"You sure about this?" Jim asks, only hoping for one particular answer, because he finally has Bones under him, eyes blown wide and smelling completely intoxicating, Jim's pretty sure if that smell was a cologne he could sell it as an aphrodisiac. However, the man is still recovering, and he'd rather not do anything to compromise that.

Of course, seconds later Bones makes his decision quite clear by reversing their positions and taking his time to explore and map out every single detail of Jim's body in absolute and undivided focus, and really, all of Jim's concerns fly out of the window very quickly.

Eventually, after what seems like an eternity of his body being memorised in intimate detail, long elegant doctor's fingers are replaced by something entirely more satisfying (surprising, but apparently possible) and each slow, precise roll of trim hips causes a delicious scrape against his prostate that he can't help make embarrassing little gasping noises at every time.

He feels like he's being taken apart piece by tiny insignificant piece and reassembled just as carefully, by the way those beautiful hazel eyes bore down at him the entire time as if he's just created a masterpiece, something to be adored and cherished for years to come. Bones looks at him like he's made of gold dust, and Jim makes a vow to return that sentiment just as compellingly for as long as he can.

***

He blinks open one eye foggily, the other side of his face pressed into the soft pillow beneath his head as he slowly comes to terms with his surroundings. First thing he notices is that he's warm. _Really_  warm. Not uncomfortably so, but enough to make him want to stay in bed for another hour or maybe 3. The second thing he becomes aware of is that someone is stroking the line along his cheekbone softly, a feather light touch that Jim hums his approval of, blinking until his eyes focus properly.

Facing him, Bones lays in a similar position, hair sticking up in adorable little tufts and lips parted lightly. The light from the windows streaming it's early morning golden glow across him and electrifies the green in those ever changing eyes. Jim's breath hitches slightly, and distantly thinks somewhere along the line he turned into a sap.

"Sorry Darlin', didn't mean to wake you." Bones rumbles, sounding completely content. "Go back to sleep."

"What time is it?"

"Early. It's been a long week, get some rest."

Jim just shifts closer to him, burying his face in the crook of his neck while Bones rests his chin on the top of Jim's head, fingers threading through the short blonde hair at the back of his skull. Bones radiates heat like a furnace, something that he had noticed before but pressed against him like this, a vast expanse of skin against skin slotted so perfectly together it's almost impossible to ignore, and entirely delicious.

"Sleep." Bones mumbles, and Jim's inclined to agree that it's a pretty damned good idea right now.

***

The next week or so goes by uneventfully. Joanna is dropped off at the airport 3 days into their 'vacation' without a hitch, and seems to have taken a liking to the house and even the swimming pool, to his surprise and Bones' distaste.

The press continue to make wild accusations and observations about the Siren population, one even went as far as suggesting that Spock is a siren himself, which Bones had laughed at for an unreasonable amount of time. It dies down a little though, and so they begin preparing a plan to deal with the press that hopefully won't start an uprising.

Once he's fully recovered, Jim takes him down to the beach and convinces Bones to go for a swim, which he does, and Jim's finally allowed to examine every little detail of the siren's figure, not quite how he'd originally anticipated when he'd signed up to investigate the species, he muses, but so much better than he had ever anticipated , because the siren's tail is wrapped around his legs to keep them afloat whilst Jim trails his hands along the skin that gradually merges into silvery blue scales, surprisingly smooth and delicate against his hands. He also discovers that fangs, whilst slightly difficult to navigate around, can be pretty friggin' hot.

 

*** 2 weeks later ***

The conference hall is packed, and Leo isn't gonna say he's not absolutely terrified of this exact moment, but it's what he and Jim have been preparing and practicing for for weeks. Just 20 newspapers what been invited for this event, but it looks like a whole load more right now. Opposite them, just off stage are his friends, people from the hospital, Jim's crew, including Spock and Uhura, who seem to have dug their heads outta their asses because something's changed between them. Not noticeably to someone who's not looking for it, but told in small lingering looks designed to be subtle. To his surprise, a few of his clan even turned up, including his mother, who gives his a reassuring smile from across the room.

Jim's hand squeezes his own. "You ready?" He asks, and Bones turns to face him.

"No." Bones replies, and Jim smiles slightly in reply, a little twitch if the lips that is nothing but reassuring.

"You'll be great." Jim says, and Bones finds nothing but pure belief in those blindingly blue eyes, but Jim kisses him anyway like he's trying to secure that belief in Bones' own head.

Bones nods once, taking a deep breath. " _You_ , are buying me a bourbon after this."

Jim smiles, letting go of his hand in favour of patting Bones' ass, to which he scowls at. "Course. Now go show the world how brilliant you are."

Bones growls and smiles at the same time, which shouldn't be so endearing but Jim's often said he's an impossible man. Bones nods again, taking another deep breath and steps out into the hall, where a hundred lights instantly flash at him as he walks towards the podium.

"My name is doctor Leonard McCoy..." He says, voice amplified by the microphone and all of the reporters suddenly go quiet. He takes a moment to survey the room, a hundred faces staring back at him, expecting. At the side of the hall, Jim waits by the group of people he's come to know as his friends, all smiling up at him, but Jim's grin shines the brightest, even surpassing the flash of bulbs on cameras and it's blinding and all of the assurance he'll ever really need. He smiles back briefly, unable to stop the small upturn of his lips while he continues. "... And I represent the Siren species."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly I'd like to say an absolutely huge thank you to everyone who's read, kudos-ed, commented, bookmarked, even stuck around this long, I've been a crappy writer putting you through all that hiatus. It means so much to me, so a big shout out to all of you, particularly Redford, Inuhime, and Krefftii, and everyone else who motivated me to keep writing this, of course. In particular I wanna say a huge thanks to JoJa for inspiring the villa scene, I have absolutely no idea what would've happened without that idea, but I'm glad it did Happen, so thank you! 
> 
>  
> 
> So to sum up, thank you everyone XD .
> 
> Shout out to my half beta who lurks in the shadows, the person I just ramble all my shit out to, and in turn critiques my every move, McChekirkhan, love you 7 XD 
> 
> I thought you'd all like to know, the comment about Bones radiating heat is entirely 100% true. me and me beta met Karl at a Star Trek convention and his hands burnt our shoulders, I kid you not. I can honestly say I've wanted to get this little fact into a fic for so long XD
> 
> On another note, WOOOAAHH I BEGAN TO WROTE SMUT. hey ok, so maybe I glazed over it like a lot, but no one wants porn written by a something-teen year old asexual. It's a start! I didn't feel like it particularly needed smut in this fic anyway, or maybe it does, but anyhow.
> 
> Also, I hope the ending wasnt too ambiguous, I didn't want to go toooo cheesy, and this seemed like a good place to end it, but you can guess from where i was going with this that sirens are eventually, perhaps somewhat reluctantly, accepted by us.
> 
> In other news, I have a some ideas floating around about new fics, but it might now be a while until I get a solid idea going. If you have any prompts or suggestions let me know, they would be much appreciated. I feel like writing something Chrismassy. Christmassy prompts would be great. 
> 
> There will be a small super cracky epoligue to this which I'm so looking forward to writing, so keep an eye out for that too. 
> 
> Ok well, again, I hope you enjoyed and it is even slightly worthy enough for the Mckirk fandom, because you are all absolutely the best, thank you, bless you, and if I don't post anything until then, happy holidays. 
> 
> *bows*

**Author's Note:**

> Depending on the reception of this... I may write more... Maybe. 
> 
> Was aptly named "Assholes Crazy Shit" by my friend. So yeah.
> 
> Remember  
> Kudos = love  
> Comments = motivation and inspiration  
> Please let me know what you think. I absolutely love hearing from you guys, even if it's a critisism it's helpful, and it would be very difficult to offend me, believe me. So dont be scared if you have a criticism to share, it means I have the potential to improve my work.


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